The Apocalypse
by flyaway111
Summary: Sequel to my Maximum Ride Book 6. I highly suggest reading MY Maximum Ride Book 6 on my profile before you read this or you will be very confused. Rated T for teen book. Slight Eggy. Fax. On Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**So, this would be the sequel to Maximum Ride Book 6! I highly suggest reading that before you read this, or you'll probably be very lost. Sorry I took so long to publish it, writer's block/school sucks, and I had to figure out exactly what I wanted for this chapter to go smoothly. Thanks to everyone who was patient with me while waiting for this, and thanks to everyone who reviewed my last story!**

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Chapter 1:

3rd Person:

Date: November 20th 2012

_You could see through the window of the house a large lighting storm breaking out throughout the city. Paper was flying through the air, trees swaying in the wind, their branches threatening to break off and hit one of the surrounding houses. The lights flickered a few times, but stayed lit in the living room where the TV was playing. The black-haired seventeen year old boy on the couch didn't move as the television played, but stayed asleep, moving an inch or two every now and then when lightning struck close to the house._

_On the TV, the News Anchor looked on with tired eyes to the camera. His hair was messed up, and his tie wasn't tied correctly. He looked absolutely exhausted, like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in weeks. "…Riots breaking out all over the world from parts of Asia and the Middle East to Europe and even back here in the United States. This has been continuing for months, and does not look like it will be stopping anytime soon. Stores are being robbed, raided, and many have cleaned out and closed down. Onto the weather." He said with a wave of his hand._

_The screen switched to a woman in a wrinkled navy blue outfit. Her hair was frazzled, there wasn't an inch of makeup on her face, and she looked just as tired as the man. She gestured to the screen behind her. "It seems like massive natural disasters are breaking out all over the world. Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and tornados have been ravaging majorly populated areas of The America's, Europe, and Asia. The North and South Pole along with Antarctica have been experiencing horrible weather conditions; blizzards covering houses to the brim. Parts of Australia and Africa have been experiencing droughts and earthquakes. It seems like this year is going to be rough on everyone."_

_The screen switched again to the News Anchor, who was nodding wearily at the weathergirls words. "Earlier this week, the President sent out a video message to all countries, and this is what he had to say."_

_The screen switched again to show a man sitting at a desk in a dark, somewhat wrinkled suit. He had frown lines on his forehead and bags under his eyes. "My friends, as most of you all know, we are all in a time of crisis. Alone we don't stand a chance, but united we may just beat this. This is the time that we have to test where our loyalties lie. At this time, our nations need to join together to help each other as much as we possibly can. Now is the time that we need each other the most, and –"_

_Static filled the screen until it switched again to the face of the News Anchor, who sighed and said, "It seems we're having some technical difficulties. We'll try to get the rest of the President's message to you later, but we make no promises."He fixed the papers on his desk and rubbed his eyes. "There has also been an outbreak of homicides in the Nation. Police departments are trying as hard as they can to keep their neighborhoods under control, but it seems that it is now becoming a near impossible task. It seems like the Mayans were right when they said that 2012 would be the end of the world."_

_The screen clicked off along with the rest of the lights in the house as the storm blew out the power lines with a giant bolt of lightning._

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**Fang's Blog:**

**November 21****st ****2012**

**Visitor Number: You know it's a big number; do I have to keep putting it up here?**

**Yo,**

**I'm not one to be big on "superstitions". I never was, and probably never will be. When we were still on the run, my mind was only sure of two things that I had to do:**

**Protect the flock, and don't die.**

**With Max out of the picture and Angel gone, the flock seems to be thinning down one by one, and my old mission of "Protect the flock, and don't die," seems to be pretty much impossible.**

**Yes, you've heard it here people, Angel has, and please ignore the pun, "flown the coop." We have no idea where she is or why she left, though we do have our suspicions. She took Total with her so we don't have to listen to him and his "Dog Rights Movement" in the middle of the Apocalypse, which is a plus.**

**The Apocalypse. Bummer, right? It's what everyone's talking about. I'm sure you've hear **_**something **_**about it. You know, the whole, "Mayan Calendar" "end of the world" type thing. No? In a nutshell, it means the world ends on December 21, 2012. Now, "scientists" (crackpot idiots) have also said something similar about the years 2000, 1995, and somewhere around 1880. Did we die?**

**Obviously, no.**

**So, the question we all want to know the answer to: **

**Is 2012 the end of the world?**

…

**Possibly.**

**With the way things are going, there's a good chance. But what do I know?**

**What do you guys think? Is 2012 the end of the world?**

**For those of you who still have internet connection after that mini-hurricane last night,**

**Fly on,**

**Fang.**

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**What do you think? Do you love it? Do you hate it? Do you want to throw it in a fireplace and burn it? Remember: like my last story, flames are welcome, but please don't be a jerk about it. Feel free to PM me or leave a review with any ideas you might have.**

**REVIEW! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**:( I'm so so so so sorry this is late. You know how it is with school (ugh) and blah blah blah (I know you probably don't want to hear excuses); so I made myself write this. I never thought sophomore year would be so difficult. I'm not sure when I'll update again so try to hold out; but I'm sure it won't be as long as it was this Oh, and the next chapter contains Fang's blog comments, so if you want to be one of the comments, leave whatever you want your penname and comment to be in a review! The first part of this chapter raises a LOT of questions and is kind of depressing, so be warned. :) Oh, and I give props to We The Kings' song Skyway Avenue (Both acoustic and regular version) for giving me the inspiration for writing this. It's an amazing song, and kind of Faxy.**

**Thanks for all of the reviews I got! You guys are amazing! I'm not going to do review reply's on here because there were so many, but I'll go reply to them as soon as I post this chapter. :)**

**Enjoy and Review! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, but I own the plot, and all of the OC's you may come across in this story. (*sigh* Oh, how original.)**

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Chapter 2:

Apparently there was some confusion, so please note that when you read this, this is the sequel to _my version of Maximum Ride Book 6_, which is on my profile for those of you who don't know. You should read that before you read this, otherwise you'll be really confused.

3rd Person POV:

She was dead.

Actually, deadisn't really the right word to use. More like in a state of 'limbo,' where she was moving closer and closer into oblivion. She felt disregarded and forgotten, and she had completely given up. There was a total numbness in her, and she felt that there was no hope left anymore.

She was overwhelmed with conflicting emotions; pure rage and suffering being two of the most overbearing of them all. She felt as if she couldn't take another minute of this, and her head felt as if it was close to exploding, a constant and unceasing pain thumping through all of the corners of her mind.

A door opened in the far end of the room, and light flooded in. The person that she learned to fear most in the world stood there, his shadows making marks on the wall around her like ghosts. He stared at her, completely emotionless and indifferent as to how she felt, and she stared back at him with fear in her young eyes.

He had completely broken her; there was no more fight left in her. She feared him more than anything. She knew deep down in her heart that soon enough her life would end and it would be because of him. She tried more than once to escape him, but it was impossible. He could make her feel pain, terrible pain, and didn't flinch at her plead for him to stop.

He was everywhere she was. He knew everything she felt; every ounce of love, happiness, pain, fear, and rage. Especially pain and fear. He lived off of it, inhaled it. He could hear her thoughts and saw every memory she ever had, and knew every move she was going to make before she made it. He was inside her. Inside her heart, her soul, and her mind.

He was the Voice.

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Fang POV:

"People are dying left and right! We can't just sit here and watch them perish and do nothing! My people –"

"_Your_ people! What about _my _people_! Your_ people aren't the only ones dying here! And what do you suppose we do? We can't fight Mother Nature!"

"I know we can't fight Mother Nature! We aren't gods!"

"Well since you seem to be the genius here, what do you suppose we do? Hm?"

"We could send rations to people! Help each other's countries! Lower the tax rates, help the sick, elderly, and the children! The list goes on and on!"

"Even if we did try to get food to everyone, there wouldn't be enough to go around! There are just too many people that need help, and not enough places to get food from!"

"It doesn't hurt to try you lazy –"

The noise in the room multiplied as everyone else threw in their own comments screamed at each other, pointing fingers and accusing each other of Who-Knows-What.

We were currently somewhere in Washington DC in a United Nations meeting. The leaders of the free world, plus what was left of the flock all in one room. I can honestly say I now know why those people only meet once a year.

"Dude, you alright?" Iggy asked me quietly.

"How bad would it be if I punched one of the leaders of the free world in the face?"

"Pretty bad. Well, _I _sure as hell wouldn't mind, but I think they would be pretty mad."

"I can understand why all our countries are separated." I muttered. "If I had to listen to this every day, I'd go nuts."

I turned my attention back to the fighting adults in front of me.

"So what if we tried to give food to people, hm? What would happen to the people who don't get food? They'd starve, and we can't let that happen!

"Well what do you suppose we do Ms. Smartass?"

"I'd much rather be a smartass than a dumbass!"

Jeez, these people were worse than children.

A fourteen year old Nudge tugged on my jacket sleeve. "Fang? Can we go yet? Watching old people fight is really boring, and I'm getting hungry."

"Me too." Added an eleven year old Gazzy.

"Fine." I stood up, and yelled over the noise. "Everyone!" They kept talking. If nothing, they got louder. I narrowed my eyes at them, and yelled, "Hey guys! Listen up!" They still didn't stop talking. I took a deep breath and yelled, "YO, SHUT THE HELL UP!"

They all looked over at me, shocked that I had made such a bold statement. "As entertaining as it is to watch you yell at each other, we have other things to do."

"But we still have to figure out a plan." Someone spoke out.

"Well figure one out." I shot back. "You can't do rations because there are too many people, so that's out. You can't evacuate because there's nowhere to go. You're supposed to be the leaders here, so lead." They all exchanged glances as I walked, extremely aggravated, to the door.

"Fang wait up!" I heard Nudge call.

The three of them caught up with me and Iggy asked, "So where are we going 'oh wise one'."

I shrugged. "Back to Dr. M's?"

They exchanged glances and shrugged. "Fine with us."

I nodded. "We'll eat when we get there." I told them as I slammed the door to the roof open and jumped off. I whipped my wings open and felt the air rush through them. Everyone else stayed quiet, leaving me to my own thoughts.

In case you haven't quite caught up with our 'misadventures', let me fill you in a little. A few weeks after Max's… _passing, _Dylan and his flock left to go find out any information they could about who survived the explosion at the school. So far, we haven't had any word from them, and it didn't look like we would hear from them anytime soon either. Did this worry or bother me? No. I still thought Dylan was a pain in the ass. Eh, what can I say? Some things never change.

As for Angel, we have absolutely no idea where she was. The first few days after Max died were fine. She was actually, dare I say it, her normal sweet self. But once she seemed to realize we all had our guards down, she tried to take control, and I snapped. More on that later. The next day she was gone. There was no note, and no one heard her or saw her leaving. She had taken Total with her too.

So, as you can see, we're pretty much falling apart over here.

For a year after Max died we had been trying to hold up as best as we could, carrying on her mission to 'save the world.' We'd been staying with Dr. Martinez and Ella and helping out with the CSM in whatever ways that we could, which honestly, wasn't too much. There weren't any more air shows, and we weren't going public anymore. Everything we did was pretty much under the table type things, and life was smooth-sailing.

That's when 2012 came around and all of our hard work pretty much went down the drain.

At least two years ago, there were more or less 6,697,254,041 people in the entire world. There hasn't been an exact count, but as 2012 started, that number dropped to around 6,546,020,000. That's a difference of over 100 million people. Freaky, isn't it? That so many people could die that fast?

Yeah, I thought so too.

It started out the same as it had always been, but as the weeks dragged by, the homicide and suicide rate shot up considerably, and the number of people who are on the streets trying to find homes grew larger. Thunderstorms, tornados, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, etc., have been destroying everything; homes, hospitals, fire and police stations... No one has any place to go anymore, and if they do have a place to stay, they're one of the lucky ones.

Lately, we've been working with the United Nations, and other 'important' governmental figures to try to solve what they call a 'little problem'.

In my opinion, this isn't a problem that can be solved. You can't fight with nature. Of course, I'm an exception to that. I mean, I have _wings._

But what can you do? When one of them wants to fight with nature, let them have a crack at it. If they want to be stupid and try to stop the inevitable, let them. Not my problem if they want to play God like they always have been. _I_ can't stop them.

But that's just it, isn't it. We have to fight sooner or later if we want to save our skins. But the big question is: How can we fight Mother Nature?

If anyone has an answer to that, drop me a line. We can use all the help we can get.

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**So, what do you think? Personally, I'm not too sure I like how it turned out, but what do I know? What do you guys think? Review!**

**Oh, and don't forget, if you want to be one of Fang's blog comments in the next chapter, review or PM me with whatever you want your penname to be and what you want your comment to be!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I know I've been saying it a lot, but sorry. I'm forewarning you now, updates won't be very plentiful. My mom and dad are getting a divorce, and I have so much other stuff on my mind, I don't have time for fanfiction, and every time I try to write a chapter, it turns out like crap. I'm so sorry. I'll be updating as soon as I can, but try not to get your hopes up. :( Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and my friend from school who added her own review comment. :)**

**Disclaimer: You know what I do and don't own.**

Chapter 3:

Date: November 23rd 2012

Time: 11:30 PM

**Blog Comments:**

**From: Dark Angel:**

**Fang, we know that you have a lot on your mind and stuffz, but we're here to help! Remember what happened when you rallies us together 2 take down Itex? Do it again! We're your army, call us together, dude!**

**Comment Reply: I wish I could, but I couldn't take that risk. Not for me, and not for you. I've been going by a certain motto lately: WWMD? (What Would Max Do?) And I don't think she'd want to put innocent people in danger. Besides, if we fail, it's up to you guys to help save the world.**

**From: KasaneCori**

**Oh hey Fang, huge fangirl, huge follower of you, and I have no idea about the end of the world being 2012, the undoing of Earth is going to be because of humans no doubt but what else can we do to avoid it? We're just one person!**

**Comment Reply: Exactly my point KasaneCori, exactly my point. We **_**can't **_**avoid it, but we **_**want **_**to avoid it. Whatever we were doing wrong, we should have stopped it a long time ago.**

**From: Shadow_Flyer_666**

**yo Fang, why dont all the smart scientists (the good ones) just come up with some sort of moon based civilization? leave the earth behind and just live up on the moon until all the bad stuff stops happening. they've talked about humens living on the moon for years and come up with a lot of things for it so why not use all that stuff now?**

**Comment Reply: That would be a good idea, and that would be pretty cool to live on the moon. But it' s the same thing as living underwater. We'd have to find food, make some kind of shelter, and we need a steady air supply. So, NASA's working on the "living on the moon" theory, but sadly, it doesn't look like it'll be completed anytime soon.**

**From: Blackice1234:**

**good luck saving the world, I so sorry about Max, but you have to stay strong. I would fight with you if I could but, I'm not so sure how that would work... tell the rest of the flock I said hi, and try to find Angel, even though she can be a bitch sometimes doesn't mean you should just abandon her...**

**Comment Reply: We're doing what we can on the Angel situation, and we'd no doubt look for her if we had any idea of where to start. Thanks for your support.**

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_Third Person POV:_

_All was quiet in the Martinez house today. It seemed almost too quiet, deathly quiet, especially for in the middle of the day. The reason? The inhabitants of the Martinez house had just gotten back from Max's memorial service, and the mood of the entire house was grim. Very grim._

_The service had been very small, with just a few people attending; mostly only the flock, Dr. Martinez and Ella, John Abate, and a few other members of the CSM that had known Max personally. Jeb was there too, even though no one really wanted him to be there. It was a nice ceremony, but it was one that no one wanted to attend._

_There hadn't been many tears shed. Those had been done a long time ago. It was just hard. Painful. To them, it was like taking a last step and admitting that she was gone forever._

_As you can imagine, dinner that night was pretty awkward and silent._

_There was no noise except the clanking of silverware against plates, and cups against the table as the flock plus Dr. Martinez and Ella ate the meal that Iggy cooked for them that night. Every person sitting at the table had their thoughts running in a million different directions, and their emotions ranged from sad, to enraged, to emotionless._

_Except one._

_The little blonde-haired girl with the black ribbon in her hair sitting at the table was a strange mixture of sad and cheery, though she wouldn't let it show. At least, not at that time. She would soon, though, so she could get what she wanted. At least, she would try._

_The silence in the room went on, until finally, the little blonde haired girl spoke. "So, it's over. Maybe we should just move on and try to forget about Max."_

_The dark-skinned girl looked up at her in confusion. The hurt was evident in her brown eyes. "Forget about her? How could we forget about her? How… How could you even think of something like that?"_

_The blonde haired "angel" shrugged. "We have to move on sometime, so why not now? Get it all over with at once. Like a band-aid; swift and fast. It would have been what Max wanted us to do."_

_The blonde girl's brother turned his head toward her, shock and pain evident in his face, but his voice was hard and sarcastic. "Oh, that's nice. Since when have you been doing what Max wanted you to do lately?"_

_"I'm only thinking of what's best for my flock." The girl only realized until after the words were out of her mouth that she had slipped up._

_There was a moment of silence._

_"Your flock?" said the olive skinned dark haired boy at the table quietly. His voice seemed like ice in the dead quiet of the room, and it seemed like for a second, the blonde girl lost her brave face, but then it was back on with more boldness than ever._

_"Well, someone has to take control, and it doesn't look like it will be any of you. Especially not any time soon."_

_Out of the corner of their eyes, the flock members could see Dr. Martinez and Ella walk quietly out of the kitchen. No one seemed about to stop them. This was flock business only, and they knew that._

_"Angel… Don't start this again. We just got back from Max's service. It's not right; an insult to her memory." They could hear Total mutter from somewhere on the ground._

_"Better to get it over with." She repeated, staring each of the flock members in the eyes seemingly without fear._

_The tall blonde at the end of the stable spoke. "You used to be Max's little girl. What happened to that?"_

_She ignored the question, and stared straight into the eyes of the eldest boy. The one who seemed to be hurt the most by Max's death. "Well?" she asked him._

_All eyes turned to him, but he didn't acknowledge them. He just stared at her, trying to figure out what she wanted._

_"I want to be leader Fang. I always have. I would be better, smarter, and more skilled than Max was."_

_Her little brother snorted. "Yeah, until a bunny crosses your path."_

_The only notice that she had heard him was a glare, and she turned back to Fang. "Face it Fang. You aren't fit to be the leader of the flock."_

_The teenager's grip tightened on the knife he was holding and his knuckles turned pale white from his tight grip. "Angel –"_

_She ignored him and continued talking, as the black-haired boy's grip on the knife grew tighter and tighter. "If we could just forget about Max and get on with our own lives, we could help save the world. We could make ourselves known. We could finally be free. We wouldn't have to hide anymore, if you just get over your stubbornness and let me take charge."_

_That's when he snapped._

_The knife that he was holding was thrown across the room and caught the ribbon in the girl's hair, missing her head by an inch. It lodged in the wall behind her, the ribbon dangling from it, about a centimeter away from her head._

_The girl froze, and for once she looked like she was actually back to her old self._

_But he knew it was only an act._

_He stood up and leaned across the table, his voice was calm as he spoke. "Don't _ever_ say we should forget Max. After all she'd done for you, you want to just forget her? She clothed you, helped you learn how to fly, how to talk, how to walk, helped put a house over your head, and helped keep you, and all of us safe for her whole life. So don't you _dare _say we should forget her."_

_The girl stood up and leaned forward so she was face to face with the boy. "You're making a huge mistake."_

"_I doubt that."_

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_Fang POV:

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Damn clock.

I reached my hand out and smashed the snooze button on the alarm.

"Fang, get up! Iggy made breakfast!"

"I'll be there in a second Ella." I called back to her over the noise of the rain outside.

I heard her footsteps walk away from the door and thought about the dream I had last night. That was the "argument" Angel and I had a few hours before she left.

I rubbed my temples, trying to get rid of the major headache I had, and, slipping on a t-shirt, I walked downstairs for breakfast.

"Can you pass the eggs please?"

"Gazzy, put that bomb away!"

"Ugh, this milk expired a week ago. Can I have some orange juice instead?"

"I want some too! Or maybe I want apple juice. I don't know yet. I wonder what kind of juice Robert Pattinson likes. Can you believe that the last part to Breaking Dawn finally came out?"

"Don't Brits drink tea for breakfast?"

"That's a stereotype Iggy, not _all_ British people do that."

"Morning Fang." They all said in unison as I sat down at the table, grabbing a plate and digging in.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Iggy asked.

I shrugged.

"Well, are we staying home or going somewhere?"

I shrugged again.

"I thought you got out of this stupid emotional shell of yours."

I did what I thought what would best show my emotions at that point:

I shrugged.

"Are you gay?"

I stopped, my fork halfway to mouth, as everyone else at the table tried not to laugh. I glared at him. "Seriously?"

He shrugged. "You never know."

"Shut up and eat your bacon."

Just another normal breakfast in a non-normal family.

**So. You find out what happened with Angel, but not a lot happens after that. Well, it had to be boring before it got interesting. We'll see Jeb the next chapter, so things should start going.**

**Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't think there's really anything to say… I **_**would **_**do my review replies but FF is being stupid and there were so many! Thanks for all of the reviews! Oh, did anyone go to World Youth Day Sunday? It was amazing. :) **

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Chapter four:

Fang POV:

November 23rd 10:16 PM

Turns out, the agenda for today consisted of video games, popcorn, and soda. What can I say? We're still teenagers.

"You two shouldn't be playing video games with a storm like that outside." Dr. Martinez said like a mother hen. Ever since Max died, she had taken to be a huge mother figure for us. She looked over from her place at the window. "You could get electrocuted or something."

"We'll stop just after I beat Fang." I glared at Iggy, but his eyes were completely focused on the screen.

_Bang, bang, bang!_

"Now, who in the world…" Dr. M muttered to herself, heading over to answer the door.

I paused the game as I heard the front door quickly open and shut. I heard the squelching of wet boots on the linoleum floor and Iggy and I both looked up at our visitor.

"Hello, boys. Horrible weather, isn't it?" Jeb said, taking off his coat and hat, and putting his briefcase on the ground.

Iggy and I glanced at each other, and without speaking, we went back to playing our game.

"Fang, Iggy, don't be rude." Dr. Martinez scolded.

"We're not, Dr. M. Honestly, we're not. We've learned that if we open our mouths, we _will_ say something rude, so what's the point of even talking?" Iggy said, without turning his head away from the game.

She scowled and walked upstairs to get Gazzy and Nudge from their rooms. Jeb sat down in one of the armchairs and shook his head. "The two of you should be out there doing something, not playing childish video games."

"You know Jeb, it's not really your concern." I said, pausing the game again.

"Would Max want you to do this?"

I glared at him. "Don't bring her into this. Max is dead."

He raised an eyebrow, but stayed quiet.

"So, why are you here, exactly?" Iggy asked as Gazzy and Nudge came down the stairs.

"I have some information that I think would be of service to the four of you." He said, taking out a small stack of papers from his briefcase.

"What kind of information?" Nudge asked.

"Is it about Angel?" Gazzy added. My mind briefly went to my dream, but I pushed the thought away.

"Not exactly." He started hesitantly. "It's not about Angel. I couldn't find anything about her. I'm sorry. Wherever she's at, she's completely covered her tracks. It's like she's been wiped off the face of the Earth. This information," He waved the papers in the air, "is about Max." He threw the papers on the coffee table in front of Iggy and I, and sat back in his chair. "When they took her away for testing after she died, I think I figured out where they took her."

We all stared at him, until I said emotionlessly, "That's impossible. When the building blew up, Max's body would have gone with it."

Everyone around me flinched slightly, and Jeb responded, "But think about it. The whitecoats may be evil, but they aren't stupid. They would have known that something was going to happen after Max died, meaning you guys trying to do something to escape or blow up the building, and they were right. So what if," He unfolded a piece of paper on the pile and spread it across the table. "What if, before they building exploded, they took Max somewhere else? They would have had enough time to take her away. More than enough time actually."

"So, where would they have taken her?" Iggy asked.

Jeb looked straight at me when he answered. "To another branch of the ITEX Institute. I think it's somewhere in New Mexico, most likely near Santa Fe."

Everyone was silent as we took this information in.

"Now, I'm not absolutely sure this information is 100% accurate. It's been two years, and they could have moved her by now."

"Do you know of any ITEX buildings near there?" I asked him.

He looked at us all in turn before answering. "I know of only one there, but that's the problem. That ITEX building has been abandoned for almost three years. No one's been in it since it shut down. Unless they're lying of course, but I'm not positive."

"Well, why'd it shut down?" asked Gazzy.

"I don't know all the details but apparently there was a toxic chemical spill on the top floor. The US Government deemed it unfit to do experiments in, and while they didn't find any "children experiments, they apparently found something that they didn't like, and shut down the building for good. They didn't tear it down either, afraid that the chemicals would spread into the city. As far as I know, no one has been in it for years, but they could be hiding out there, or they could have just dropped off Max there, done a few experiments on her to find whatever information they needed and left." He said bluntly.

"So, what you're saying is, after all this time… After _two years_ of Max being dead, you come to us, and expect us to drop everything we're trying to do just to go after a hunch you have about where Max's body is?" I asked him.

Everyone stared at me in shock, and then looked to Jeb for his answer. "Well, I mean, when you put it like that you make it sound so…" his voice trailed off.

I stood up. "Look Jeb. I loved Max, I really did, and I'd do anything in the world to get her back here with us safe and sound. But I'm tired of disappointment, and I'm sorry. If you want to go look for Max in New Mexico, you can do it by yourself."

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Iggy POV:

…

Well, that was unexpected. I watched Fang as he stomped up the stairs toward his room. I heard his door shut, and I sighed, looking at Jeb. "How sure are you that Max's body is in Santa Fe?"

"Around 95% sure. It would be the perfect place to keep her. It's somewhere you'd least expect, and a place that she'd never be found. Especially if the building is deserted." He told us.

"But it's been two years…" Nudge said slowly. "Wouldn't she have…? I don't know. Decayed?"

"Not if they preserved her correctly."

We were quiet as we absorbed this new piece of information and Jeb spoke again. "I can get you the tickets to New Mexico if you want to go and look for her It'll be a lot faster than flying with your wings."

Gazzy and Nudge looked at me since I was the oldest in the room. I sighed, and stood up. "We're going find Max."

"But what about Fang?" Gazzy pointed out.

"Fang will just have to get over his drama queen self. Get the tickets Jeb. We'll leave tomorrow night."

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**I know it sucks, but the next chapter will be about Iggy fighting with Fang, and then we'll actually get the story going.**

**Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm not going to waste any time with apologies or anything, so I'll get right to the chapter. We have a blog post and Iggy and Fang's POV. So, we finally get to get this show on the road! For the blog, if you want to be a comment, PM me or review what you want your comment to be like. Pretty much any time I do a blog post, this is going to happen. I put up a poll, so please go vote! And for anyone's who's interested, James Patterson's official website put up the picture for the next Max Ride Book.**

**http:(SLASH)(SLASH)jamespatterson(DOT)com(SLASH)books_maximumRideSeven(DOT)php**

**Disclaimer: I own the plot, and I don't own Harry Potter, Maximum Ride, or Bride Wars.**

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Chapter 5:

**Fang's Blog:**

**Visitor Number: Too many to count.**

**Yo,**

**So. Jeb stopped by last night. You know how every single time he comes, life seems to blow up in our faces? Yeah, this time is no different. He found something; something big, and I'm not sure how I really think about it.**

**He says he found Max. Well, her body at least. He gave us this location and everything as to where it might be, and told us that we should go get her to give her a proper burial or something. My reaction on this 'new knowledge' probably wasn't what anyone expected.**

**Honestly, I don't want to see her like that, and to put it bluntly, I don't want to have to carry a dead body, even if it is Max's, all the way from Santa Fe back to where we're staying at yet another safe house.**

**So many decisions, so little time.**

**I don't know, what do you think I should do? Should I stay, or should I go?**

**Do you think we'll be able to find Max?**

**Fly on,**

**Fang**

Iggy POV:

November 24th 7:31 PM

"Come _on_ Fang! Stop being stupid! This could be the last chance we ever get to see her again." I yelled, following Fang into his room.

"I don't care. We're not sure if Jeb's telling us the truth. He could be leading us into a trap for all we know."

"He's helped us a lot Fang, I think he's changed."

"Again?" he asked sarcastically. "I'm not taking any chances, and even if he's telling the truth, do you think I actually want to see her like that?"

"And you think I do? Jeb said –"

Fang turned around angrily. "I don't care what Jeb said! I. Don't. CARE! If she's really there, I don't want to have to see her like that, Iggy! All this time I've been hoping at the bottom of my soul that somehow she would've survived and found her way back to us! Seeing her would be like…" He sat down on the edge of his bed and ran a hand through his hair. "Like admitting she's really gone. That she's never coming back."

I sighed. "Maybe that's what you need Fang."

"What?"

"Closure. Seeing Max might help you. All this time you've been waiting for her to walk through the door and come back for good. Maybe you really need to see her to give yourself some closure."

"Think about it, Fang." I started to walk out the door.

He stood up and followed me out. He sighed. "I'm in. When does the plane leave?"

Fang POV:

I sat back in my seat on the plane after I watched it take off. I was sitting next to Iggy, who was looking for a movie for us to watch. Ever since he got his eyesight back, he's been using it as much as he could, looking around and seeing different things, scared that it would disappear just as quickly as it came.

"Hey Fang. Which one do you think we should watch? The last Harry Potter movie or Bride Wars 2?"

There was a pause as we both thought it over.

"Harry Potter." We said in unison.

About an hour into the movie, I spoke. "Iggy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. As long as you're not chickening out, of course. Otherwise, don't think I won't strap you down to the plane if I have to."

I sighed. "I'm not bailing out."

"Then ask away."

"Do you think she'll be there? Or do you think Jeb was lying?" I asked him.

He thought about the question before he answered. "I'm… I'm not sure. In some ways I want her to be there, and in some ways I don't. We finally get to move on, but like you said, it'll be hard seeing her like that if she really is there."

"I think that –"

_BANG!_

I was cut off as a loud thud sounded throughout the plane. Everyone stopped their conversations and looked around, wondering what the noise was.

_BANG!_

Some people stood up, and were quickly knocked to the ground as the plane swerved.

_BANG! BANG!_

"What the hell?" I muttered, glancing to the two seats behind me to make sure Nudge and Gazzy were okay. They were fine, but looked extremely confused.

At least, until Nudge happened to look out the window.

Her eyes widened, and widened, until I thought they would literally pop out of their sockets.

"Uh, Fang? I think you should maybe take a look at this." She said.

_BANG!_

At this point, everyone around us was starting to panic. I ignored them and looked out my window and saw nothing but white clouds and bright blue sky. "I don't see anything, Nudge. What are you –" I stopped talking as my gaze went to the wing of the plane. "Oh, crap."

The New Threat; The New Threat who we haven't seen since Max died, were hammering away at the wing of the plane, obviously trying to get it to break.

We were under attack.

"What's wrong?" Iggy asked. He followed my gaze out the window and saw them at th iwng of the plane. "Oh."

"We have to get out of here." I said.

"You think? But what about everyone else in the plane? We can't just let them die."

"I have a feeling that they're just after us, so hopefully, if we get off the plane, they'll leave everyone else alone."

"Well, at least we know one good thing about this." He said.

"What's that?"

"If they're coming to attack us, Max must be close."

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**Remember to make your blog replies! and Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**So here's the next chapter. Yada, yada yada. You know the drill. You can still post replies to the blog and leave comments because that won't be until the next chapter.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Lilac Rose6 because she inspired me to get off my lazy butt and write this chapter. And just for the record Lilac, Facedown and Guardian Angel are my two favorite songs by them!**

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Chapter 6:

Fang POV:

November 25th 9:34 AM:

I felt the plane swerve as I jumped over Iggy and made my way over to the cockpit. (Cockpit? Really? Whoever came up with that name needs to be punched in the face). Iggy followed me close behind.

No one bothered to stop us from going in. There were all too busy panicking to even notice us.

A big gush of air slammed into Iggy and me as we barged through the door that separated the pilots from the rest of the plane, ready to tell the pilots that we needed some way to get out. But there was a slight problem.

The big gush of air? From the plane's broken window that the two New Threat standing in front of us just punched through.

The reason the plane swerved? The pilot and co-pilot were currently hanging on for dear life to the broken window, dangling thousands of feet in the air. Obviously, the plane was pretty much about to go freefalling through the sky.

Spectacular.

I had half a second to absorb the scene in front of me before Iggy and I were attacked.

I sent a roundhouse kick to the guy who rushed at me, twisted his arm around, and slammed his face against the wall. He pushed back against me, and punched me in the jaw. I could feel blood dripping down my chin, but I wiped it away and shook the pain off.

_Pain is just a message Fang._

I punched him in the eye, and called out to Iggy, who had already beaten his guy to the ground, "Go get the two pilots!"

He immediately ran off to get them, while I knocked the guy I was fighting unconscious.

I quickly ran over to help him and we pulled the two men in, who were literally quivering in their boots.

"DRIVE, MAN DRIVE!" Iggy yelled, pushing the two men into their seats as the plane swerved again, and the two of us slammed into the wall.

"The controls aren't working." Said the pilot in what he apparently thought was a calm voice. He moved around pressing buttons and pulling knobs, trying to get the plane to straighten out again.

"Mine aren't either." Said the panicking co-pilot.

"Guys, what the hell is going on?" Nudge and Gazzy ran into the room, grabbing onto something so they wouldn't tumble down onto the floor.

It was like a light bulb turned on in my head at that moment. I pushed Nudge forward, and told her, "See if you can see what's wrong with the controls."

The pilots gave all of us a strange look. They were probably thinking that we shouldn't even be near them right now, but didn't question it since we just saved their lives.

I nudged Nudge and waved her forward while the frantic pilots tried to figure out what was wrong with the plane. She put her hands over the controls, and closed her eyes.

A few seconds passed by.

"I think there's something wrong with the turbine engine." She told us.

The pilot's stared. "Why do you think that?"

"Just check it." I ordered bluntly.

One of them left while the other stayed at the controls.

The man who left to check the engine ran back in, breathing hard. "They're right. The engine's almost completely busted, and we can't generate thrust. We have to land, or the plane will crash."

"I – "

There was a rumble from deep within the plane. It sounded like a car engine right before it goes out. There was a tremble throughout the plane and we were all still in midair for a few seconds before the plane started descending.

Fast.

"DO SOMETHING!" Nudge screamed. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE BY PLANE CRASH!"

Well, it would be really ironic with the wings and all, so I see where she's coming from.

So, as we were falling to our deaths in a giant heap of metal, hanging on for dear life to whatever object that was near us, and I saw my life flash before my eyes as I often do in situations like these, I thought about Max. I thought about her beautiful face, her flawless skin, her silky hair, her soft lips, and her smoldering chocolate brown eyes. I thought about the way her nose twitched when she was thinking, the way she moved and the way she talked, the way her eyes scrunched together when she was confused or angry. I thought about the way she threw a punch, the way she was a motherly figure for the flock, and the way she kissed me. I thought about her smile, her laugh, her frown, her blush, how much her punches hurt, how she was able to handle having so much stress on her shoulders, and still have time to be a mother, a friend, and a leader; how she was able to balance those out equally.

And as I thought about her, I realized something:

I wouldn't let myself die before I saw her again.

And that thought was enough for me.

I pulled myself toward the two pilots chairs where they were franticly trying to save our skins. "Can you do anything to stop the plane? Or at least soften our landing?" I asked them.

"We're trying, kid. There's not much we can do without the engine." Said the pilot.

"Well, what happens if we land in the water?"

The two pilots exchanged glances. "We die. The other engine might slow our fall, but it won't help much."

"Well, that's reassuring." I heard Iggy say, while Gazzy snickered.

See, even in the face of death, we all have a sense of humor.

"Oh, move _over_!" Nudge pulled herself up next to me and pushed the co-pilot out of his chair, and sat down. Her fingers moved over the machine again and started pressing buttons and pulling knobs.

The plane stalled for a half of a second, and seemed to hover in mid-air right before we hit the water.


	7. Chapter 7

**I can't say I'm too happy with how this chapter, especially the beginning, turned out. I'm not really good at writing action, but I did my best in the last chapter and, well, you'll see when you when you read.**

**Review Replies: If you're not either Lilac Rose6 or maximumFANGirl, you can skip this part and go to the last two lines of the authors note.**

**Lilac Rose6 – I couldn't help but laugh when I read your review. :) haha, no problem! You deserved the chapter to be dedicated to you! It made **_**my **_**day to know that I made someone else's day just a little teensy bit better. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and hopefully you'll like this one too. :)**

**maximumFANGirl – It's all cool, you're not a bad person. :) Yeah, I guess I did make Angel a little off her rocker, but I guess I was just so freakin mad when Angel turned traitor (because she used to be one of my favorite characters) and then BAM, she was miss goody two-shoes again. It just completely got on my nerves. Anyway, after my rant about Angel… :) I'm glad you liked it! Because at first I was like, "Oh, my god! I hope nothing happened to her!" :( But then you reviewed and I was like *phew!* I love Fang too. :) It's like when he gets hurt you wanna go give him a big hug or something, and Iggy is always amazing. He's just… Iggy. He gets his own adjective. :) I'm glad you liked the last chapter! And you can review whenever you're able too. I mean, I haven't been too generous with updates, sooo….. :)**

**Thanks to all my reviewers in this story so far! You guys are completely amazing: Blackice1234, EmpressOfSarcasm, maxrider1, AnikaandAj, turtlelover0511, Anonymous Pi, Night owl-Day goddess, ilovefangg, GreyPurpleBlack, FaxnessForever13, UnbrokenSilences, 3.1415927, staze7, SandStorm12, , Hikaru, xX Black Sapphire Xx, Avenging Angels, and whitewolf207.**

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Chapter 7:

Fang POV:

November 25th 2:18 PM

"That. Was. _Awesome!_" said Gazzy, pumping his fist in the air as we were picked up by the United States Coast Guard.

"Well, you're an idiot." Nudge responded, ringing out her hair. "I don't think we've ever had that much trouble when flying."

"Tell me about it." I said as I rung out my shirt.

"How the hell did you get that plane to slow down Nudge?" Iggy asked, shivering from the cold water and cool air.

"I'm not really sure. It was like I had all the controls in my head and I knew what they do. I pressed the one I thought would help and it slowed the plane down enough so we wouldn't die when we hit the water." She told us as someone handed all of us blankets.

So, as you can see, we survived. Barely. Nudge managed to save the day with her power. There were no casualties in the plane, except everyone's luggage of course, but that was a minor priority right now.

"That was so freaky. We haven't had an attack like that in years, and how did they even find us?" Nudge asked.

"I don't know. You don't think Jeb…" I let my voice trail off.

Iggy shook his head. "I don't think so. Jeb knew where we've been for over two years. If he wanted to tell someone where we were to try to get us killed, he would have told them already."

"Then maybe it was just a coincidence?" Gazzy threw in.

"I don't think so. They're wouldn't attack a random plane like that. They must have known we were in there." I said.

"Then what do we do now?" Iggy asked, breaking the silence that had erupted.

"I'm not sure. I don't even know where we are." I said, resting my head in my hands, trying to sort my thoughts out.

"Um, excuse me?" said an unfamiliar voice.

I looked up to see a tall man in a naval uniform standing over me, casting a shadow. "Yes?" I asked him, not really in the mood for people who wanted to ask questions.

"I was asked by Jeb Batchelder to personally escort the four of you to Santa Fe, New Mexico with my crew. He said you had something to do there that was extremely important."

Okay, I don't know about you, but if some random guy walks up to me and says he'll take us to New Mexico because he talked to Jeb, of all people, apparently with no strings attached, I get a little suspicious. But, that's just me.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice sounding slightly rude.

"I'm Captain James Marshall of the United States Coast Guard." He said, his voice sounding equally rude to match mine.

"Okay, Captain Marshall, how can you expect us to go with someone who randomly stops by and offers us a free trip to New Mexico."

He smiles, not phased. "Because, I'm from the CSM."

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**Blog Comments:**

**From: EmpressOfSarcasm**

**You should totally go! It would really help you get over her... passing. I know that this is hard for you, but we all have to face our biggest fears sometimes.**

**From: KasaneCori**

**Honestly, I think you should go. If you don't find Max it's not the end of the world. Worse things have happened, right? And if you do find her, congratulations. You can finally have the chance to say a real goodbye to her and give her a proper burial. There's nothing wrong with wanting to say goodbye.**

**From: Shadow_Flyer_666**

**dude you should totally go. Even if it is just her body you should bring her back and give her a propper barrial.**

**From: The_Empire_Of_Darkness**

**Definitely go. What's the worst that could happen? (I hope I didn't just totally jinx you guys right there.)**

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3rd person POV:

Date and time: Unknown

_It was dark, and the wind whistled through the changing colored leaves in the trees. It seemed to be mid to late Fall, the weather crisp and inviting, but the girl shivered in her thin and torn clothes._

_She was scared and jumpy, her feet moving slowly, putting one foot in front of the other carefully. She moved through the trees clumsily, her legs weak as she hadn't used them much lately. She breathed in the woodsy scent and sighed as the smell filled her, reminding her of old memories; reminding her of the past. Her bare feet stepped over the damp grass, and she rubbed her weak arms to keep herself warm. She didn't know where she was, or how she got there. She barely knew who she even was as that point._

_She may not have had a clue as to where she was, but she did know one thing:_

_She was free._

_The side of her lip twitched upwards a bit, aching to turn into a smile, but she wasn't sure she even knew how to smile anymore. Her mind was haunted with tortured thoughts, and her beautiful face showed a person who was plagued with fear._

_She knew he would find her sooner or later. And it would all start over again. The pain, the terror, the torture… It would all come back, even worse than before. But she knew she had to enjoy the moment for as long as she could. This was probably the only moment of happiness, of contentment, that she would have for a very long time._

_She walked slowly, swerving through all of the trees as if she had all the time in the world. Her mind raced with thoughts of the past; of memories that seemed too far away to be anything more than a dream. But still, she was comforted by these thoughts; they were blurry, and dim, and sometimes a little scary, but she was still herself in those memories. She wasn't scared and weak then; she was happy, and safe, and was with people who loved and cared about her._

_Unlike now._

_Now she was completely and utterly alone. There was no one there to help her, no one there to comfort her or save her. She was on her own, and she knew it. She knew no one would be looking for her, because, even though she couldn't exactly remember why, she knew that they thought that she was dead. And what's the point in chasing after a dead girl?_

_She shook those thoughts out of her head and made room for the thoughts that she greatly cherished; the memories she kept close to heart, and the ones that she swore to herself she would never forget. She kept walking, not paying attention to where she was going, and let the memories flood through her body, warming her heart._

_She saw herself, maybe thirteen years old, rocking a small, angel-like five year old girl, making up a story to tell her since she had had a nightmare. She saw herself laughing at a joke that an eight year old boy told her, and saw herself trying to help a dark-skinned girl tame her wild mane of hair. She even saw herself, maybe about six years old, reaching out to the scared boy with the piercing blue eyes who had no idea he was about to get his sight taken away._

_She couldn't remember their names no matter how hard that she tried, and she couldn't help but think that she was missing something; that there was something, or even _someone, _that she was forgetting. She tried hard, mentally sorting through all of her thoughts, but it seemed as though every time she felt as if she was close to an answer, she'd hit a brick wall. It was like her memory had been erased, and she couldn't seem to bring it back._

_She tried desperately to get her thoughts in order. She wanted to know what she missing. She knew it was extremely important, but she just couldn't figure out what she was forgetting, or better yet, what she forced to forget. She tried so hard to remember what she knew she shouldn't have forgotten._

That's when she woke up.


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm really not in the mood to make up excuses, but this whole, 'late updating' thing will end now that exams are over. And I got a PM message from someone asking me if I was planning on giving up this story. As an answer to anyone who's wondering, I'm not. I gave myself a promise when I first started writing that I would never give up on my stories. So here's the next chapter. Probably the one you've all been waiting for. Things will probably get moving from this point on. Hopefully. And just as a warning, this chapter switches POV's. A lot.**

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Chapter 8:

_Distance between two hearts is not an obstacle._

_It's more like a beautiful reminder of just how strong true love can be._

Fang POV:

November 25th Midnight:

You know what I hate?

Life.

I know what you're thinking. Saying that just adds onto the whole 'Fang is emo' thing, but I'm not going to lie. I seriously hate life. It just seems like the universe was bored one day and said, "Hey! I know what I should do! Why don't I go screw Fang over and watch him squirm? That'll be so much fun!"

You know what I say to that?

Screw you, universe. Screw you.

Confused yet? Allow me to explain.

I guess I'll rewind to a few hours ago and summarize everything that's happened to us. The Coast Guard, and our new 'friend' Captain Marshall (who I made sure was part of the CSM before we left with him) dropped us off smack-dab in the middle of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Alone.

With no map.

No money.

And no idea where in hell we were supposed to go.

So, if you haven't figured it out, we were kind of…. Stuck. Stranded. Clueless. Whatever word you want to use, that was us.

"So, where are we supposed to go exactly?" Gazzy asked, looking warily at the crowded streets, confusion flooding his features.

"I'll tell you when I figure that out." I answered him, starting to walk down the street dodging people who were walking around. "You think we should just ask someone for directions?"

Iggy snorted. "Oh, yeah. 'Hi, we have wings and we're looking for the nearest abandoned Itex headquarters so we can find and recover our leader's dead body. And what do _you _plan on doing today?' Yeah, Fang. That'll go over _real _well."

I resisted the urge to smack him.

"Well, why don't you stop being a smartass and come up with a better idea."

He thought about it for a few seconds before speaking. "It's getting late, so why don't we camp out for the night and start our search tomorrow morning?"

As much as I hated to admit it, it was a good idea. "I guess we could do that. But where?"

He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "No idea."

We walked around for about twenty minutes, trying to make a plan and find a place to sleep.

"There!" Nudge pointed to a street sign on a lamp post a few feet away. " Hillside Park is a few blocks away! How about we sleep there for the night?"

"That'll probably be the best and only place we can find on such short notice." Iggy pointed out.

I ran a hand through my hair. "I guess. Let's go. I'm tired."

We walked to the forest since it was only a few blocks away. It was huge, covering a few miles, filled with trees where we wouldn't be seen. It was pretty much perfect for four bird kids who wanted to hide out for the night.

"I'll take first watch." Iggy told me after Nudge and Gazzy had fallen asleep on two branches above us.

"Thanks." I said, looking out into the night.

"Is something bothering you?" he asked suddenly, his head turned toward me, but his eyes were closed.

I glanced at him. "How'd you know?"

He shrugged and opened his eyes to look at me. "What's wrong?"

I sighed and closed. "I just have this bad feeling that we're not supposed to be here."

"You mean that we're close?" he asked.

"No, not at all. Think about it. If those New Threat really did attack us because we were close to finding Max, why haven't they attacked us again? If we're closer to finding her, shouldn't we have been attacked again?"

Iggy shifted in his spot. "Well, maybe they're trying to make us think that so we'll leave. You know, like reverse psychology or something. Maybe we're about to hit a dead end, or maybe they moved her if she was there in the first place. Wherever they actually had her. It's just a chance we have to take."

"It just bothers me."

"Don't tell me you're backing out."

I shook my head. "No. We came all this way and I'm not turning back now, no matter how much I want to."

"Why? Why are you so dead set on not finding her? Why won't you let yourself have some hope?"

"Hope is overrated." I muttered, looking away from him.

I could see him give me an appalled look out of the corner of my eye. "Are you crazy? Hope is the only thing we have, and you think it's overrated?"

I turned toward him, suddenly angry. "I _know _it's overrated. I hoped for over two years. _Two years, _Iggy. I hoped she would come back. I hoped we could all be a family again. I hoped Angel would come back and get some sense. And I _hoped _that life would get better. I _hoped _that the pain would stop, but it hasn't. I've been let down by hope so much, I've given up on it." And with that said, I jumped out of the tree and flew into the dark night.

I heard my name being called, but I ignored it and kept on flying, badly needing to let out some pent up energy.

I landed a few miles away, not really caring if anyone knew where I was, and I screamed. I let out everything I had been holding in. I felt tears slip from my eyes and I wiped them away angrily, leaning against a tree. Everything was so overwhelming, and my mind was swimming with questions I didn't know if I could answer. Most of them were actually questions I didn't _want _answered, because I was actually afraid of what the answers would be.

Where was this Itex headquarters? Is Max there? What will we do if she _is _there? What will we do if she isn't? Will we keep looking? Will we give up and go back home? Will we take her back if she's there? Or will we just leave her and bury her there?

So many unanswered questions.

I let out a frustrated shout, and swung around, my fist coming in contact with the tree. I felt the bark slide swiftly into my skin and the warm blood rush over my hand.

I was breathing hard, my mind was racing and I couldn't seem to organize my thoughts. I slid down to the ground, my back against the tree.

Damn, I hate this.

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3rd person POV:

The piercing noise sounded in her mind, and she cried out, clawing at her ears as if she could scratch out the noise. Through the screeching sound she could hear a harsh voice yell in her mind, the sound seemingly bouncing against the walls in her head. _They are coming. They are coming. They are coming._

She didn't know how to respond to that. Who was coming?

She bit her lip to keep from crying out again, and she squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the pain pointlessly.

_They are coming._

She could feel blood dripping down her lip from biting so hard, and she winced, tasting the blood in her mouth. He was doing it again. He had never laid a hand on her, but he could still hurt her. By making her feel pain, she fought, and in fighting, she hurt herself.

She clawed at her head angrily, trying to get the piercing sound and the voice to stop. It got worse as she tried, and she could feel the tears slipping out of her eyes at the pain. She wiped them away, angry at herself for giving in to the pain, because she knew he lived off of it. He _thrived _off of it.

Her hands were shaking as she clawed at her head and ears uselessly, feeling her fingers break skin and blood slipping out of the cracks in her fingers.

She was tired. And weak. And scared. She was broken and fragile. She wasn't the same person she was a few years ago. Was it even years? It could have been months. Even days. She tended to lose track of the time.

_They are coming._

She whimpered pitifully at the voice. What was he talking about? Who was coming?

_They are coming. They think they can find you._

_They will _never _find you._

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Iggy POV:

I watched Fang fly away for as long as I could before he was swallowed up by the darkness. I shook my head. Dude just needed to chill.

I figured I would just let him cool down for a while, and he would just come back on his own. I knew how hard this was for him.

Actually, I didn't know how hard this was. This had to be absolutely excruciating for him. I don't know how I would react if for two years I had no idea where the love of my life was, and then I randomly get news about where she might be.

It was enough to drive anyone insane.

And Fang was just… Fang. So that made it even worse.

I relaxed against the tree, letting my head fall against the bark, and waited for the time to pass, when we could _finally _try to find Max.

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Fang POV:

I walked through the deserted streets of the town, looking for some clue as to where we should go next.

It was a dead end. I knew it was. How could it not be a dead end? We were just sent on a wild goose chase. All of us given false hope. I knew from the very beginning that we would all be disappointed, and I was right.

I let my gaze fall over the shops and houses down the streets, glancing at some of the signs and advertisements in some of the windows.

This was a disaster. I would tell the flock that we were heading back tomorrow. It was hopeless, I knew it was. So what was the point of staying?

"There is _no_ point in staying." I muttered to myself. "I was so stupid for coming here. What was I thinking? That we would magically find Max, and she would be alive? God, I'm such an idiot." I sat down on the nearest bench and put my head in my hands.

But, I couldn't give up. I could never give up, could I? What would I do if I gave up looking for her? Go back to Dr. Martinez's and wait for the end of the world while playing video games with Iggy? That seemed like a pretty pathetic life. But how was I supposed to know if we would find her or not? It's been two years. She could be anywhere.

I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly, thinking about my internal debate.

"Damn it, Fang." I told myself, quietly. "Snap out of it. You can't give up yet. Think. If you were an evil scientist bent on destroying the world, where would you hide the only person that could stop you?" I started walking down the street again, my mind on overdrive.

It would have to be inconspicuous. A place no one else would expect to look. If it was supposed to be a science lab, but news about it was never revealed to the public, it could be anything. Any type of abandoned building, that no one would want to go near. A police station , maybe. Or a school, which would be very ironic. It would have to have scientific equipment that wouldn't draw attention to authorities.

You know, if Jeb would have just told us, "You should go here, and here, with this, at this time," I wouldn't be having this problem.

If only.

"Young man, are you okay?"

I jumped, and turned to face a woman, who looked to be about in her mid-fifties, closing up what seemed to be a coffee shop. She had stopped and turned to look at me, seemingly concerned.

"I'm fine, thank you." I told her, walking away.

"Are you sure?" She called out to me.

"Positive." I called back.

She didn't speak again, and I walked on. I could hear her keys jangling as she locked up the shop, and I stopped suddenly.

Wait a minute…

"Miss! Miss, wait a second!"

She stopped what she was doing and turned back to me. "Yes?"

"You wouldn't happen to know if there were any abandoned buildings around here would you?" I asked her.

She thought about it for a moment. "I think you may be looking for St. Timothy's. It's an abandoned hospital near the Loretto Chapel. It was evacuated a few years ago, I think because of a chemical spill, and it's been empty ever since."

An abandoned hospital. Closed by a chemical spill, it would have science equipment so it wouldn't be suspicious… It would be the perfect place.

"Can you give me directions?" I asked quickly.

The woman blinked, then said, "I'm pretty sure you go down three blocks from here." She pointed down the street. "Then you take a right onto East Water Street, and then go down Don Gasper Avenue. You can't miss it."

I took off down the street, yelling a quick, "Thank you!" to the confused woman over my shoulder. Once I was out of her sight, I took off in the air, heading as fast as I could toward Hillside Park, and the flock.

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Iggy POV:

"Iggy. Iggy, wake up." I felt someone shaking my shoulder.

"Wazzat?" I blinked, trying to get my bearings in the darkness. I shook my head. "Fang, what the hell's going on?"

"I think I figured out where Max might be."

"Are you serious?"

He nodded. "It's a long story, but I'm pretty sure she's in an abandoned hospital cald St. Timothy's."

"Where?"

"Just a few blocks away."

I looked at him seriously. "Fang, are you sure?"

"Positive."

I sighed. "Wake up Nudge. I'll get Gazzy."

About fifteen minutes later, we were at the hospital. It looked normal enough, just like an average everyday hospital. The only thing different were the huge amounts of dust, and the boarded up windows and doors.

"This would be the perfect haunted house during Halloween." Said Gazzy.

"I'll say." Muttered Fang. "Let's go."

We walked up to the hospital, listening for anything that sounded out of the ordinary. Fang and I tore off the dry-rotted wooden boards covering up the door, and he put his hand on the handle. "You think they would have an alarm or something?" I asked.

"For a hospital, probably not. But in case an alarm does go off, we run." He pushed open the rusted door slowly, and luckily, it wasn't locked and no alarms sounded. At least, none that we could hear.

"It looks like a regular, everyday hospital." Nudge said as we entered what looked like a very large waiting room. "It doesn't look like a place that would do experiments on kids."

"Things aren't always what they seem." I said. "They wouldn't have a bunch of incriminating evidence out here in the open. They would do experiments where no one would expect. Kind of like a hidden in plain sight kind of thing."

"Like a basement or something?" asked Gazzy.

"Exactly like a basement." Said Fang, wiping away the dust on a large sign that showed the different doctors on the different floors. "Come on. Let's go find the stairs."

We wandered around slowly for a while, randomly looking in different doors for a staircase that could lead down to a basement or another floor.

"Over here!" called Nudge quietly. "I think I found the staircase!"

We all walked over to her, and looked through the door she was holding open to a long dusty staircase that held no light.

"Who wants to go first?" I asked, looking down the dark staircase.

No one spoke.

"Okay then. I'll go."I said, taking hold of the railing.

"No," Fang said, putting a hand on my arm and stepping in front of me. "I'll go."

I waved him forward, and he started walking slowly down the stairs, the rest of us following behind him closely.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, we came to a giant metal door. We exchanged looks, not knowing what to think.

"Well, are you going to open the door?" Gazzy asked Fang, literally jumping up and down in suspense.

Fang seemed to be frozen, but after a few seconds put his hand on the doorknob. He opened the door to pitch blackness. There was nothing anywhere but blackness.

"Hold on." He said. "Let me see if I can feel for a light switch."

It took him a few seconds, but soon enough, a dim light flooded the room. We all blinked to get adjusted to the light, and all of our eyes came to rest on our sudden surroundings.

I'll warn you right now that it's not what you think.

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**Review! Even though I don't deserve it. And even thought it's passed already, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.**


	9. Chapter 9

**See, I told you guys I would start updating faster. This is probably the chapter that you've definitely wanted for a while. Maybe. It answers some questions, but also opens up some new ones.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, or Skyway Avenue (Acoustic) by We The Kings, which is the song at the beginning of this chapter.**

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Fang POV:

'_Cause if you jump, I will jump too._

_We will fall together, from the buildings ledge,_

_Never looking back at, what we've done._

_We'll say it was love._

'_Cause I would die for you_

_On Skyway Avenue._

My luck sucks; I know it does.

I can picture the universe rolling on the floor laughing at me right now, and I'll explain why.

I felt the cool metal under my shaking hand as I turned the doorknob and searched for a light switch. I didn't know what I should expect. I didn't hear anything behind the door, so I didn't think there wasn't anything on the other side; at least, nothing that was alive. Would the whitecoats have preserved her? Would she be the same way she was when she died? Or would she have… _decayed?_

I shuddered at the thought, and pushed open the door. My eyes scanned the room automatically. It looked like your standard operating room at first glance, but as my eyes traveled even farther along the room, I saw that there was a wall full of empty cages, all of them different sizes. There were shelves all along the other walls with all kinds of tools on them, some I could name, and some I couldn't.

Yeah, just your standard freak show room.

My eyes landed on the middle of the room, the part that I had been dreading to see all along.

Honestly, I was expecting a lot worse than what I actually saw.

She was there. Exactly as I had remembered her. She was lying on what looked like an operating table, perfectly preserved, but pale and lifeless. None of us moved closer, we all just stared. I could hear Nudge sniffling behind me, but I didn't react. I was numb and scared. I didn't know if I should leave, or go to her. Iggy, though, was the one who made the first move.

He took a step toward her hesitantly, as if afraid she would pop up at him. He slowly kept walking until he was right next to her. I saw his hand reach up and touch her hand, then he flinched at the contact.

Gazzy was next to move. He followed Iggy's steps and went around to the other side of the table. He didn't make a move to touch her, he just stared at her face. It was like he didn't believe it was true, even though there was proof right in front of him.

Nudge moved toward her, moving to stop next to Gazzy. She slowly reached and wiped a piece of hair out of Max's face, and I could see tears falling down her face.

I watched them all for a while before I moved. I slowly walked over to stand next to Iggy, right next to Max's head. I felt a small wetness on my cheeks, and I wiped it away angrily. I didn't bother glance at anyone else, my eyes were on her, and her only.

Her eyes were closed, and she looked at peace, like she could have been sleeping, and not dead. Her shirt showed the four holes where she was shot, and there was dried blood around them. I slowly reached up, and touched the side of her face, flinching away from her cold skin, but not moving my hand away.

Now, I said that my life just sucks sometimes, right? Well, this is pretty bad, but I can promise you, it's nothing compared to what we're about to discover, trust me.

I could hear the tears of the other flock members, but I didn't bother looking, too wrapped up in my own thoughts and pain. I let my hand rest on Max's cheek, before letting it trail down her neck, and down to her shoulder, feeling the coldness of her skin. Her t-shirt was torn in different places, and I moved it so it would cover her more, at least to let her have a little more dignity. I sighed, my pain evident in my voice.

My breath caught when I spotted something on the skin of her shoulder. I moved her shirt sleeve a little, and my heart started beating hard, threatening to beat out of my chest.

There was a symbol, followed by a number, on her skin that seemed to have been tattooed to her:

**# 3**

"What _is_ that?" Iggy asked, having followed my gaze.

"It's a... number three." I answered.

"Max didn't have any tattoos on her, did she?" Gazzy asked.

"No…" I told him. "I would have known if she did. She would have told me…"

Nudge broke the silence that had ensued. "So, does this mean what I think it means?"

"Maybe." I muttered.

"But even if it is true, that brings us to another question." Iggy said.

"Which is?" Gazzy asked.

"Well, this has to be Max 3." Iggy told the two of them. "Because our Max didn't have that tattoo."

"So?"

I stood up straight from where I was bent over Max 3. "So, if Max 3 is here with us, where's _our_ Max?"

We had decided to have a funeral for Max 3. After all, it was the least we could do. Nudge had found a few shovels in the corner of the room, so we all went out in the back of the hospital, me getting the fantastic job of carrying Max 3, and made a makeshift grave for her. We had wrapped her up in a blanket, and fixed her up as best as we could, before placing her in the grave and burying her.

"Should we say a few words?" Nudge asked.

"Like what?" Iggy asked. "We didn't exactly know her."

"Well, she saved Max's life." Nudge argued. "We should at least say something… I just feel bad leaving her like this."

"Yeah, but we don't exactly know what she did with her life now do we?" Iggy shot back. "She could be a mass serial killer for all we know. What are we supposed to say about her?"

"Iggy, I highly doubt she's a serial killer." Said Gazzy, rolling his eyes at him.

"You never know! She could be –"

"Iggy, just shut up." Nudge said, shaking her head. Then she turned to me, "Fang, can we say a few words about her?"

I waved her forward to speak, but she shook her head. "You knew her more than we all did." She told me. "Why don't you say something?"

I sighed. "I'm not really sure what to say. It's not like I knew her that well. All I know is that she had to have a little good in her if she took Max's place. She deserves our respect, even though we didn't get the chance to give it to her when she was alive."

We all stood there in silence over the makeshift grave. "I feel really bad leaving her like this." Nudge said again a few minutes later. "Isn't there something we could do?"

"Well, it's not like we can carry a dead body back to Dr. M's, now can we? That would raise a little suspicion." Iggy said.

"Besides," I said, "Maybe she's better off. Not being tortured and experimented on or something."

We were quiet again.

"Fang, do birdkids go to heaven?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Do birdkids go to heaven?" Gazzy repeated. "A while back I saw this thing on TV about some religion where the spirits of dead humans rise up to heaven, but animals don't. So, does that mean that we don't get to go to heaven because we're part bird? Or we do go to heaven because we're still mostly human."

I thought about the question. "I'm not absolutely sure, Gaz. But that's a good question." I sighed, and said, "Come on guys, I think it's time for us to go back to Dr. Martinez's. She deserves to know what we found out."

"What about Jeb?"

"Who cares about him? He led us to a dead end. Literally." I said. "But at least we know one thing." I took off into the air, the others taking flight behind me.

"Which would be?"

"Max might still be alive."

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**So, Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A few people have been asking if I could update faster, and I'm really sorry that I haven't been. I try to write as fast as I can, but I can only do so much at once. This story isn't my only priority. I have one other MR fic I'm working on, and at least five different oneshots for Harry Potter, MR, and Percy Jackson. Plus, all my teachers thought it would be hilarious to give us five projects all at the same time, so that's not helping. I'll try to write more, but I won't make any promises. Sorry again. :(**

**And we're almost to 100 reviews! Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing this story! You guys are great. :)**

Chapter 10:

Fang POV:

_Hope is the thing with feathers_

_That perches in the soul._

_And sings the tune – without the words,_

_And never stops at all._

_- Emily Dickinson_

November 26th 2012:

11:41 AM

"…So the way we figure it is that Max 3 must have taken Max's place at some point." I finished telling Dr. M. We had decided to head back to her house after burying Max 3. We figured that, of all people, Dr. M deserved to know what we had found.

"Well, what does that mean? Could she still be out there somewhere?" Dr. Martinez asked me when I finished telling her what we had found.

"She could be as far as we know." I told Dr. M. "The thing that bothers me is that I feel that I have more questions than answers now."

"Wouldn't the whitecoats have seen that number three on her shoulder?" she asked.

"Not if they didn't examine her." I mentally flinched as Iggy spoke. "They really just wanted her… dead. If they were so excited about finally being done with it, they might not have even noticed."

"Or maybe they were just too stupid to notice?" Nudge threw in.

"Maybe. None of it makes sense." I said.

"Well, if that was… Max _3_ that you found, where could the other Max be? The real Max?" asked Ella.

Dr. Martinez shook her head. "Alright, let me get this straight. They left her there like that for two years? That's terrible! That poor girl…"

"I don't think they left her like that by herself though. Someone must have gone back to her at some point, maybe just to check on her or something. Everything around her was mostly covered in dust, but she wasn't. Someone could have been with her recently, but I don't think it's very likely." I told her.

"And you didn't see anyone else there? Absolutely no one?"

I shook my head as Iggy answered her. "There was no one there besides us. My guess is that when the rest of the building had to be evacuated, so did they."

"Well, wouldn't the police have found the beaten up, dead body?" Ella asked.

"It _is _a hospital." Iggy pointed out. "If the police had found her, they probably didn't think a second thought about her. They could have just thought that in a rush to get away from the chemical spill, the scientists might have left her. But the room where she was in was a pretty much out of the way part of the hospital, so I'm thinking that no one had found her anyway."

"That's just… sick. Leaving her on some table in an abandoned hospital for two years." She sighed. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now."

"Yeah, but that still bring us back to where we started." Gazzy said. "What are we supposed to do now?"

I rested my head on my arms, which were lying on the table. "I'm not sure, Gaz. I'm not sure about anything anymore."

3rd Person POV:

_Monsters are real. Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes… They win. – Stephen King_

He paced back and forth; pausing only once to glance at the giant screen in front of him that showed the girl that he had so carefully hidden for over two years. She was resting, mentally and emotionally exhausted.

He knew from the very beginning that this moment would come. Later, rather than sooner, he had hoped, but he knew it would come at some point. And he would have to deal with it. Somehow.

He couldn't lose her. He _wouldn't_ lose her. Not again. He had worked too hard to get her to let her go. They would come for her soon, when they figured it out. They would come for her, and they would try to rescue her, but no. He wouldn't let her go. He wouldn't let her escape, not after all of the hard work he had gone through to get her there.

_Should I leave?_ He thought. _No, that would make it seem like I was a coward. I couldn't let myself be seen like that. Should I just kill her? No, not after everything I've been through to get her here._

_Should I stay and fight? _He debated over this thought. "Yes, that's what I'll do." He muttered to no one in particular, glancing at the screen again. "I'll fight them for her. Even if it's the last thing I do."

He knew it was stupid, but his rage at them blinded him. A fight would be stupid. He was human…. Mostly. He was weak and definitely not as strong as _them. _He knew that this would be a fight to the death, but ignored the fact that there was a great chance that he'd lose. He'd lose everything he'd ever worked for.

But, honestly… He didn't care.


	11. Chapter 11

**Yay! The next chapter! Big thanks to turtlelover0411 whose awesome idea helped me out. Awesomely. Her idea was so badass, I just had to use it in my story, and it should come into play in the next chapter.**

**Anyway, there's a series of flashbacks in this story and it kind of skips around a lot. The first few flashbacks were in the actual Max Ride books, but the last one is one I made up to... well, it answers some questions. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride or the flashbacks in here, which belong to James Patterson, but I own the plot, and all of the characters you aren't familiar with. I do own the last flashback in here, though, which is a continuation of Chapter 47 in the prequel to this story.**

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Chapter 11:

Fang POV:

"_My dear young cousin, if there's one thing I've learned over the eons, it's that you can't give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it." – Hermes in Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan_

I don't think I have to tell you that we pretty much ambushed Jeb when he came back from… wherever he was. I didn't bother asking, knowing that he probably wouldn't tell me the truth.

"Wait, she wasn't there?" he asked.

Iggy looked at me. "Didn't we just explain this to him?"

I sighed. "It was Max 3, not our Max."

"How is that possible?"

"We were hoping you'd know the answer to that."

Jeb shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't. I'm just as confused as you all are. I honestly thought she would be there."

"Do you know anyone else who would have had contact to her?" I asked. "Anyone who would have had a grudge against her or had access to her?"

"No, no, there's no one like that." He said. "There were a lot of people who disliked Max and wanted her dead."

"So, there's absolutely no one you can think of?" Gazzy asked.

"No. No one. I –" He cut himself off, and seemed lost in his thoughts. "Wait, maybe I do know someone. But no, he couldn't have done it. He wouldn't have."

"Who?" I asked, my mind reeling.

He hesitated before answering. "Max's Voice."

Everyone stared at him, their thoughts no doubt in fifty places at once.

"What?"

"That's insane!"

"We don't even know who Max's Voice _is._"

"I thought it was trying to help us?"

All of our questions shot out at once, looking to Jeb for an answer.

He held up his hands. "I know as much as you do. And besides, I don't think that the person who's the Voice had anything to do with it."

"Yeah, but _who_ is the Voice?" Nudge asked. "Do we know whoever it is?"

Jeb glanced away from all of us, avoiding our eyes. "I'm telling you, it's probably not the Voice. Why would he do that? It's totally against what –"

I stood up and grabbed the collar of Jeb's shirt, pulling him toward me threateningly. "Jeb, I swear to God if you don't tell us who the Voice is, I'll kill you."

That was totally a bluff right there. I'm not THAT heartless.

But the good part was, Jeb seemed to believe it. He swallowed nervously, and wouldn't meet my eyes. "You know who it is already."

I raised an eyebrow. "We do?"

Jeb nodded as much as he could with me holding his shirt. "You met him recently actually. He helped you find Max. I mean, Max 3."

"Wait, you don't mean…" Nudge said, her voice trailing off.

He sighed, and nodded again. "Yes. Captain James Marshall is the Voice."

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? POV:

_Scars dictate where we're been. They don't have to dictate where we're going. – Unknown_

I jumped, nerves on end when the door to my cell was slammed open. My eyes widened as I saw the Voice stalk toward me, something crumpled in his hand. I scooted back as far as I could to the wall, but he kept coming for me.

Bracing myself for the pain, I waited.

But it never came.

He bent over in front of me, shoving a photograph under my nose, and I flinched. "Do you know who these people are?" he asked me, anger radiating off of him.

I stared at the picture, not knowing what to say. I saw three boys and two girls standing there laughing. My heart felt like it would burst as I looked at each of them. They were so happy. So… carefree.

My eyes scanned the picture, stopping over each face, not knowing who they were, but realizing I had seen them in my dreams. I stopped as I reached the second to last one. A boy, maybe seventeen, with black hair and dark eyes and olive-toned skin. My heart gave a pang of sadness and regret as I continued to stare at him. I stared, but couldn't place who he was, or where I had seen him before.

I continued to stare, and stare, and stare, my brain reeling as I tried to place the face with some kind of memory.

I heard the Voice sigh impatiently, but thought nothing of it as I stared at the picture blankly.

Then… it all came rushing back to me. Every memory, every thought, every smell, taste, feeling, and sound rushed through me all at once. Thoughts such as _save the world, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, flock, Dr. Martinez, Ella, Iggy, Fang_ ran through my mind at a speed that was extremely difficult to comprehend.

Thoughts and memories echoed throughout my mind, fighting to keep my attention, all of them wanting to be the dominant thought:

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"_Check in guys – are you up for a chase?" I examined the four of them. They looked like they had been stuffed into a blender set on "chop."_

_"Yes," Nudge said in a tear-choked voice._

_"I'm up," said Iggy, a split lip making his voice thick._

_The Gasman nodded solemnly at me._

_To my horror, hot tears momentarily blurred my vision. I wiped them away with the back of one hand and called on fury to keep me going._

_Just then Iggy cocked his head slightly. It was a clue for me to start listening intently. Then I heard it too: a faint engine noise._

_"_There!" _Iggy said, pointing._

_The five of us ran stiffly and clumsily toward the sound. A hundred yards through the woods brought us to a sharp drop-off maybe fifty-feet above an old, unused logging road._

_Then I saw it: a black Humvee, dull with dust and mud, bumping roughly over the unpaved road. My heart pounded. I knew, just knew, that my little one, my Angel, was inside. And she was on her way to a place where death came as a blessing._

_It wasn't going to happen, not while I was breathing._

_"Let's get her!" I cried, then backed up about ten feet. The others scurried out of my way as I ran to the edge and simply jumped out into space._

_I started to fall toward the road._

_Then I unfurled my wings, fast, catching the wind._

_And I began to fly._

_

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_

"_Oh, my God!" Nudge squealed, removing the cover on a tray. "Oh, my God!"_

"_What? What?" I hurried over, hoping for chocolate._

_Instead I was confronted with a large bowl of… well, birdseed._

"_It's just seeds!" Nudge said. "Not even like a granola bar! It's _birdseed!_"_

_For a couple seconds we all just stared at one another, and then we cracked up, really howling with laughter._

"_Oh, God, no!" I said, holding my bruised ribs. "Don't make me laugh!"_

"_Nummy!" Gazzy said, poking the seeds with his finger. "Could I get some worms with this?"_

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"_You _are _really pretty Max," said a small voice next to me._

_I pressed my face into my pillow and squelched some extra-colorful words. Way to go, ace – have embarrassing personal thoughts while you're _two feet _from a _mind reader. _Yes. Along with the wings and the raptor eyesight and the weird bones, etc. the scientists who'd created us had included the whimsy of suddenly developing other skills._

"_You have nice hair and really pretty eyes," Angel went on earnestly._

_I rolled over a bit. "Yeah, brown and brown." Have I mentioned how much Fang loves _red _hair? I believe I have._

"_No, your hair has little sun streaks in it," Angel informed me. And your eyes are like – you know those chocolates we had in France? With the gooey stuff in the middle, with the alcohol in 'em except we didn't know, and Gazzy ate a million of them and then barfed all night? Those chocolates?"_

_As much as I tried to suppress all memory of that incident, it rushed back to me in vivid Technicolor. "The color of my eyes is like barfed-up chocolate?" Despair settled over me. There was no hope._

_"No, the chocolates before they were barfed," Angel said._

_So, there you have it, the extent of my charms: brown hair and eyes like unbarfed chocolate. I'm a lucky girl._

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_

_Fang nodded slowly. "You have to want to be with someone, or it doesn't work. You have to choose."_

_I searched his face, wondering if we were still talking about Nudge. "Uh, yeah," I said awkwardly. I was just about to say something really important about Nudge, and it flew right out of my mind. "Um, and she…" I tried, but my voice trailed off as I got lost in the intensity of Fang's expression._

_He leaned closer. When had he gotten so much bigger than me? Four years ago he'd been a skinny beanpole! Now he was –_

_"I choose _you,_" he said very softly, "_Max_."_

_Then his hard rough hand tenderly cupped my chin, and suddenly his mouth was on mine, and every synapse of my brain shorted out._

_We had kissed a couple of times before, but this was different. This time, I squelched my immediate desire to run away screaming. I closed my eyes and put my arms around him despite my fear. Then somehow we slid sideways so we were lying in the cool sand. I was holding him fiercely, and he was kissing me fiercely, and it was… just so, so intensely _good. _There aren't any words to describe how good it was. Once I got past my usual, gut-wrenching terror, there was a long, sweet slide into mindlessness, when all I felt was Fang, and all I heard was his breathing, and all I could think was, "Oh, God, I want to do this _all the time._"_

_Gradually our kisses became less hungry and more comforting. Our arms relaxed as we held each other in the cool desert air. Our breathing calmed, and my thoughts began to sort of connect to each other again in comprehensible chunks. I started my inevitable freak-out, but I tried to do it very silently inside my head, because this had been so special, and I didn't want to ruin it. Like I usually did._

_I slanted my gaze up to him, and Fang was… smiling. He was lying on his back, holding me against him, and he was looking up at the night sky, with the katrillion stars that you only see when you're in the middle of nowhere. Then you see stars that you never even knew existed. He was smiling, and his face looked softer and less closed._

_I was instantly full of sharp, witty jibes, and it took every ounce of Maximum self-control not to say them. To just lie there and feel vulnerable, and think about everything that had just happened between us, and wonder how it had changed things, and wonder when I had started to love him so much, so painfully, and feel how terrified I was and how elated, and how every cell of my body felt so alive._

_It was pretty much the worst thing that could ever happen to a girl._

_I highly recommend it._

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_

_She turned her face away from me again and I could have sworn I saw a tear fall down her cheek._

_"It hurts, doesn't it. The guilt. The pity. The hurt. You feel sorrow for them but it's too late. I've done a lot of bad things in my life that I'm not proud of… No, no that's not true, I'm proud of most of them. But that's beside the point. I'm trying to make up for what I've done wrong. There's still hope for me and there's still hope for you. For all of us. You still have a chance to make a change."_

_I could see the debate clear on her face. She was cracking._

_"The question is… Will you take a chance and make that change? Will you do something good for the world?"_

_She closed her eyes and I saw her struggling with her decision._

_"Max." I called her name to get her to look at me._

_She looked at me expectantly._

"_Will you help me?"_

_I stared straight into her eyes, wondering if I could somehow get to her. My mind was on hyper-drive. I knew I needed to think of something, fast._

_Max 3 bit her lip. "I'll help you."_

_I stared at her in shock, unbelieving. "You will?"_

"_Yes. You're right. It does hurt, and I do have a chance to make a change. And that starts right now." A determined look settled on her face as she stalked forward and untied me quickly._

_I stood up and looked around, not actually knowing where to go from here._

"_Strap me down." I heard Max 3 say._

_I turned around to see her lying in the same position I was, ready to be tied down. "Are you crazy?"_

"Tie. Me. Down._ The only way you can get out alive is if I switch places with you." She told me, determined._

"_No! Why don't you just come with me? Come live with the flock and help us save the world." I told her, equally determined._

_She gave me a sad smile. "There can be only one Maximum Ride in this world. You're the only one who can save the world."_

"_I –" I was cut off by a loud sound and voices reaching the door._

"_Quick! Tie me up before they come in."_

_I hesitated._

"_NOW_!_" She whispered angrily as the voices got closer._

_I didn't hesitate any longer, and tied her to the table. I finished and stepped back as soon as the door opened._

_The sight of Cynthia Bronson made me want to hurl. She smiled sickly at Max 3, lying there on the table, thinking it was me. "Ready for your final performance?"_

_Max 3 just stared at her. "Do your worst."_

_"I intend to." She motioned to two men standing behind her, and they untied Max 3 and yanked her up from the table harshly, leading her out. Cynthia Bronson walked out behind them, and I knew I had to follow._

_Even though the relief was swarming inside me, I couldn't help the shame and guilt that flooded over me, since I knew deep in my heart that I had just sent a good, innocent person to their death._

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I felt dizzy as the thoughts and memories took over my head. I remembered _everything._ I knew what I was supposed to do. I knew where I was supposed to be. I knew who I was supposed to be with. And I knew who I was.

I am Maximum Ride.

A strange feeling of anguish sank over me as that thought entered my head. Because I knew things had changed. Everything was different. _I_ was different. And after everything I had been through, I knew I would never be the same.


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the major cliffhanger. I already have the other chapter written, so updates will be soon. Enjoy! And Review! **

**Thanks to maximumFANGirl who as the 100****th**** reviewer! :D Keep those reviews coming!**

**And also, a big thanks to turtlelover0411, who's badass idea comes into play in this chapter.**

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Chapter 12:

Fang POV:

November 26th, 2012:

8:19 PM:

_Let your heart guide you. But listen closely, because it whispers. – Anonymous_

I glared at Jeb, teeth clenched, while the flock watched the two of us like a tennis match they didn't want to miss. "Do you mean to tell me, that the guy who helped us find Max 3 was the Voice this whole time, and _you didn't tell us?"_

Jeb blinked, not exactly sure what to say. "Captain Marshall is a good person. He's only a few years older than you are actually. He wouldn't have done something like this! He helps the CSM whenever he can and sometimes gets information for us when we need it! I don't see any motive that he would have!"

"Exactly! He would be the last person you'd expect! That's what he wants!" I dropped Jeb and crossed my arms in front of me. "Face it, Jeb. You were wrong."

He shook his head. "_He doesn't have a reason to have her!_ Why would he have kidnapped her?"

"He's the Voice. Doesn't that give us reason enough? At least just to check him out?" I shot back. Jeb opened his mouth to speak but I interrupted him, "Where does he live?"

He sighed. "He lives a few miles away from here actually. He owns a large farm house; his family has money. A lot of it."

I stared at him. "So, what you're saying is that this guy has a giant farm house, and it's only a few minutes away?"

"Pretty much, yes."

I glanced at the flock, and they all seemed to realize where my train of thought was going. "What's the address?"

Jeb narrowed his eyes at me. "Why?"

Iggy rolled his eyes. "Haven't you figured it out? We're going throw him a surprise party. You're not invited, by the way."

I sighed. "Just give us the address, Jeb. We'll go there, checkout the place, and if he's there, we'll talk to him. If it turns out he's not suspicious, we'll come back. Simple. No harm, no foul."

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1 hour and 45 minutes later:

"Really, Fang. Was breaking Jeb's nose necessary? I'm sure we could've figured out the address some other way." Nudge said, as we landed in the Captain Marshall's yard. "We could've checked online or something."

"I'm pretty satisfied with the way we got the address." I responded, cracking my fingers. "Besides, Jeb was really pissing me off."

"Personally, I thought it was hilarious." Iggy added.

"Definitely," said Gazzy.

"So, what's our plan exactly?" Nudge asked curiously as we started walking up the steps to the seemingly deserted house.

"Break in, punch him, then ask questions." I said.

"Shouldn't we knock, talk to him, and then punch him?" Gazzy asked.

"Yeah, but my way's more fun."

"Can't argue with that logic." Iggy said seriously.

We stopped at the front door, and I looked at them. "Everyone ready?" I asked, as I put my hand on the doorknob.

They nodded.

"Alright, let's do this." I said, sounding a lot more confident than I felt.

I swung the door open and tensed, ready for anything that would come at me.

Red light number 1: The door was already unlocked when I swung it open, but it seemed as though no one was home.

"That's weird." I muttered. "If you're almost never home, why would you leave your door unlocked so anyone can walk in?"

"Stupidity?" Iggy threw in.

"Maybe he forgot." Gazzy added.

"He's smart enough to help us when he's the Voice. And he's a naval officer. He's trained not to forget things."

"So?"

"So _someone _must be here." I said, opening the door wider and peeking inside.

"You wanna know what would be really ironic?" Iggy asked as we walked in the dark house.

"No, but I know you're gonna tell me anyway, so go ahead."

"If someone broke in before we did. That would be hilarious." He said, looking around. "It looks like a normal house. Not somewhere a psychopath would keep a person."

"I doubt he'd leave evidence right in his living room Igs." I told him, and then I said, "Nudge, see if you can find a light switch or something."

As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw her searching for a light switch, and then turned to search the rest of the room. I heard Nudge's voice speak softly. "Uh, Fang? We have a problem."

"Hm?" I asked, distracted, my eyes going to the medals and awards on the mantle above his fireplace.

"The light switch isn't working."

I picked up a cordless phone that was lying on the coffee table, and listened. "No dial-tone."

Red light number 2: No power.

"Power outage?" I asked.

"Someone may have cut the power lines." The Gasman pointed out, heading into the next room. "Hey guys? Question: Would you cook food for yourself, but leave it on the table to get cold?"

"No, why?"

"Because it looked like the Captain made pasta, then left. It's still hot, so he made it recently."

"Maybe he had an emergency and had to leave? That explains the food, no car in the driveway, and the unlocked door." Nudge said, walking into the kitchen with us following her.

"That doesn't explain the power."

"Maybe he forgot to pay his electric bill?" Nudge asked.

"Yeah, maybe. I think –"

Iggy waved a hand in front of my face to make me be quiet. "Wait, do you guys hear that?" he asked. He had his eyes closed, and seemed to be concentrating hard on something.

"Hear what?"

"_That._" He said, walking out of the kitchen, following whatever he seemed to be hearing.

I listened, but heard nothing. "Do you two hear anything?" I asked Gazzy and Nudge, quietly following Iggy out of the room and into the hallway.

"Nope."

"Nothing. It must be one of those things that we need Iggy's sensitive ears for." Nudge said.

"Apparently." I said, following Iggy through the house, until he suddenly stopped and cocked his head to the side.

He knelt down and put his ear to the floor. "It's coming from here." He pointed to the ground. "It sounds like… Well, hear for yourself." He waved me forward, and I knelt next to him, putting my ear on the ground. I heard Nudge and Gazzy do the same thing behind me, but I ignored it, and focused for the sound that was coming through the floor.

A quiet sobbing was coming up through the floorboards, like someone was fighting to hold their tears back.

"You don't think…"

"Too easy. There has to be a catch." Iggy said, putting his head to the floor again.

"You're right. There is a catch."

We whipped our heads around to face the unfamiliar voice, or better yet, _Voice._

Red light number 3: Captain James Marshall was standing in front of us, gun raised and aimed to kill.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid._ I scolded myself. _That's what you get for rushing off without preparing. Of course he has a gun, he's a naval officer for God's sake._

"You won't take her away from me." He said, and I could see his hand shaking a fraction of an inch. Besides the nervousness and anxiety, he was exactly as I remembered him. Young, maybe in his early twenties, military haircut, etc.

"Whoa dude. You can put the gun down. We're all friends here." I told him, motioning the flock to stand up slowly, so we wouldn't set him off. I tried not to let my anxiousness get to me. Was Max really here? Was that her that we heard crying? My first thought was that it couldn't be her, because Max didn't cry, but she's been here for two years with this freak. Things had to have changed after everything she had been through.

"I worked too hard to have her. You're not taking her from me."

I raised my hands up to show him I wasn't a threat, even though in my head I was trying to think of a way to get the gun away from him.

Iggy spoke up. "Don't do anything stupid man. We just wanna talk. That's all."

Captain Marshall's hand shook more violently, and I knew that if he fired, the bullet could hit any one of us, not just his target. A.K.A. Me. "She's not going anywhere. _I _took care of her when you didn't. You didn't _look_ for her. You can't have her. _She's mine._"

I raised an eyebrow at his possessiveness. "Easy does it. Just give me the gun, and we can talk this out." As I said those words, I knew there would be no talking. He had full control over Max's mind. If I could get rid of the gun, I knew there would be only one solution to this. Either we kill him, or he kills Max.

Neither option was looking very good at this point.

Captain Marshall's eyes flashed, as if he realized the same thing, and his hand steadied a bit as he aimed the gun. "I could kill her, you know. I have absolute control over her mind. I could make her go insane. She'll never be the same."

I felt Gazzy and Nudge stiffen next to me, but I ignored them. "But you won't do that, will you?" I said to him. My eyes widened as I came to another realization. "You care a lot about Max."

He didn't respond, and I felt Iggy tense up next to me as he realized the same thing I did. I spoke before he could open his mouth with a sarcastic comment that could get us all killed. "You love her. Don't you." I told him, my voice making it sound like a statement, not a question.

He flinched, and I felt my heart squeeze, knowing I hit right on the mark. It was painful, knowing that she was alive a few inches under our feet, but not being able to get to her.

"_She's mine._ I took care of her when she needed advice. I gave her answers. Everything she needed. I kept her safe. I gave her comfort and peace of mind." He said, his eyes darting back and forth between the four of us, who were starting to close in on him.

"Just lower the gun, and everything's going to be fine." I told him, motioning for the flock to stop moving.

Time seemed to be frozen as we all stared at him and he stared back. No one seemed to want to make the first move.

He blinked, and a scream sounded from below us.

I think I speak for all of us when I say I didn't give it a second thought as I lunged at him, my ears only slightly registering the sound of a gun being fired, and a moan of pain from somewhere to my right.

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**Review?**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm surprised that so many people were so dead set on Iggy being the one that was shot. But you'll find out who it really was soon enough.**

**And just for the record: Just because you send me a million reviews saying, "update" won't make me update any faster. I don't just sit around writing fanfiction all day; I DO have a life. I know this sounds kinda bitchy, but when the same person reviews over and over again, just telling me that I need to update, it makes me kinda mad.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers! You guys are great!**

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Chapter 13:

Fang POV:

_Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect. – JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Poenix_

Time seemed to stop as the gun was fired and we all dived at Captain Marshall. I wasn't sure what I was going to do exactly when I got to him, but I decided I didn't care. The distant screaming pierced my ears, and I seemed to be suddenly blind with anger and rage. My mind was a blur and I couldn't concentrate.

I tackled the Captain to the ground, knocking the gun out of hand in the process.

I knew what I had to do and I knew that, physically, it would be easy. He was human. I wasn't. I was stronger than him. Faster than him. I would have to kill him, but honestly, I wasn't sure who the winner would be. Me? Even though I was a murderer? Or him? The man who kept and tortured an innocent girl for two years?

I met his eyes, and they seemed blank, like he was somewhere in a far-off place. I didn't hesitate any longer.

I reached around his head…

And snapped his neck.

The _crack _that sounded would be something that would haunt me forever.

I fell back and sat on the ground, my mind racing and my breath coming in shallow pants. I stared at Captain Marshall; the man I had just killed.

"Fang! A little help over here would be nice!" Iggy's voice shocked me out of my reverie.

I crawled over to the three of them, where Nudge and Iggy were trying to stop the bleeding from Gazzy's leg.

"How bad is it?" I asked as Gazzy moaned at the pain.

"It's fine. He'll live." Iggy told me, wrapping up his leg with a long towel Nudge had found. "He was lucky. The bullet went straight through his leg. This should hold it until we get back to Dr. M's, and then she can help him."

Gazzy glared at him. "If I was lucky, it wouldn't have hit me at all." He said through clenched teeth.

Iggy ignored him, and I spoke. "I'll be back guys. I'm going to go try to –"

"Yeah, yeah. Just go. And hurry up, this won't hold for long."

I stood up and started walking quickly through the house, purposely ignoring the dead body I had just passed. The steps down to the basement were in the sixth door I opened. I ran down them quickly, reaching another door at the bottom of the barely-lit stairs.

I twisted the knob back and forth, trying to will it to open. "Come on." I muttered to myself. "Come on!" I banged my hands on the heavy wooden door, desperate to get it open.

I stepped back and kicked the door inward with all the strength I had left. It slammed into the wall with a _crack!_ And I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness that filled the room.

My heart seemed to burst when I saw her, and I ran forward to her as fast as my feet could carry me.

I turned her body over so she was lying on her back, facing the ceiling. She was unconscious, and there was a pained and unsettled look on her face. Her clothes were wrinkled, her hair as knotted, and her skin was pale. I ran a hand across her sickly looking skin, noticing how unusually thin she was.

"Damn, Max." I muttered to myself. "What did he do to you?"

I gently picked her up bridal style, and walked toward the door as fast as I could, heading up the stairs and to the rest of the flock.

"You found her! Is it really her? Because gosh, that would suck if Jeb sent us on _another _wild goose chase." Nudge babbled. They stood up, Iggy helping Gazzy and came to stand next to me, looking down at her.

"She looks okay. I mean, as okay as she would be." Iggy said, clutching her hand gently. "No broken bones, bruise or scars. The only things we probably have to worry about are the mental scars."

"She looks so… different." Gazzy said.

"Come on. We need to get her back to Dr. Martinez." I ordered.

The look on Dr. Martinez's and Ella's faces when we brought an injured Gazzy and an unconscious Max into the house was priceless. A mix of confusion, shock, and disbelief graced over their features. She instructed me to set her down in one of the spare rooms in the house, and I laid her down on the bed, the flock following close behind me.

"Is she going to be okay?" Ella asked her mother.

"She should be fine. It's not the physical injuries I'm worried about though." Dr. Martinez said, checking Max's pulse. "She's malnourished. Ella, go get portable IV I have in the car. We need to get some fluids in her."

About an hour later, a newly bandaged Gazzy and the rest of the flock sat in the living room, waiting for Max to wake up.

"Alright." Dr. Martinez said, coming into the room. "Explain."

We recalled the events that had happened since we left the house a few hours ago. "And it was really strange," I said. "It was like Captain Marshall was really in love with her. It was like a very twisted version of Stockholm Syndrome."

"What's that?" Gazzy asked.

"It's a psychological case. It describes the behavior of kidnap victims who, over time, because sympathetic to, or even fall in love with their kidnappers. Instead, it was the other way around." Dr. Martinez told him. "This man must have been in Max's head for so long that he felt some kind of emotional attachment to her."

"So Max was pretty much in danger this whole time, from a person we thought was trying to help us, and we had no idea." Nudge asked.

"Not necessarily." She told us. "The Voice really thought he was helping you. Somewhere in his mind, he thought he was doing the right thing."

"What you're saying is that he's a sociopath?" Iggy asked, a confused look on his face.

"For the most part, yes." Dr. Martinez finished. "Now, Max shouldn't be waking up for a while; I gave her something to help her sleep. God knows she needs it. When she does wake up it'd be best if none of you mention anything about these last two years. If Max wants to tell you, she'll tell you, but when and _only_ when she's ready. Alright?"

Everyone nodded, and Dr. Martinez looked at the clock.

"It's past midnight. Why don't you all go get some sleep?"

They all opened their mouths to protest, but I cut them off, "She's right. We've had a long day. I'll wake you up if anything changes. Go get some rest."

They all stood up walked up the stairs, with the exception of the Gasman who was using old crutches Dr. M had in her attic.

Dr. Martinez was the last person to walk up the stairs, but she stopped and turned to me, "She'll be alright, Fang. She's just going to need time."

"What if time doesn't heal as much as we want it to?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow.

She thought about this for a moment and sighed, her face seemingly aging five years in the dim light. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

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Max POV:

November 27th 3:32 AM:

"_Sometimes there are no words, no clever quotes to neatly sum up what's happened that day. Sometimes you do everything right, everything exactly right, and still you feel like you failed. Did it need to end that way? Could something have been done to prevent the tragedy in the first place?"_

The first thing that hit me when I woke up was the utter bliss. I felt… refreshed. Completely and fully refreshed and satisfied. I kept my eyes closed as my hands slid against the soft fabric of the bed I was laying on, not wanting to wake up from this dream. It had to be a dream, I knew it. And when I opened my eyes, it would disappear.

The cool fabric slid under my fingertips, and I sighed in content. I relaxed into the soft pillow behind my head, and pulled the blankets tighter around me, wincing as something sharp pulled at the crease of my elbow.

I opened my eyes grudgingly, not wanting to wake up from this amazing dream. I immediately spotted the culprit as my eyes adjusted to the light. It was an… IV? Why did I have an IV in my arm? I looked around at my surroundings and my eyes widened at the room I was in. Where was I?

I sat up slowly, the IV tugging at my arm again, my entire body feeling sore. I reached down to pull the IV out of my arm, when a hand shot out and grabbed my arm.

I flinched violently, and moved away as far as I could. My eyes looked from the hand that had grabbed me, up to a muscular arm, to a black shirt, to a face I hadn't seen in over two years.

Neither of us spoke. I stayed where I was, in a defensive position, trying to comprehend what was going on. I couldn't understand what was happening. Where was I? This was too good to be true. I knew I had to be dreaming. He sat back in his chair next to the bed slowly, apparently not wanting to startle me.

I relaxed my position a tiny bit, my mind still trying to process what was happening. "Where am I?" I asked almost silently, my voice hoarse from lack of use.

The teenager leaned forward slightly. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that you're safe now."

I stared at him, my mind on hyper-drive. "How did I… I mean, what happened?"

The boy seemed to flinch a bit. "A lot."

I leaned back and rested on the bed's headboard, the only sound being the wind roaring violently outside. "Is this a dream?"

I heard the chair creak, but I didn't turn to see what he was doing, my eyes stayed focused on the door a few feet in front of me.

"No. It's not a dream." I saw him cross in front of the door and come around to the side of the bed I was. He knelt next to me. "This is real. He can't hurt you again."

I looked at him. The moonlight was lining up the contours of his face, making him have a ghostly effect, but he was still the same way I remembered him. His hair was shorter, but still a deep midnight black. His eyebrows were scrunched together like they always were when he was concerned. And his beautiful eyes hadn't changed at all either; they still seemed like black holes to get lost in.

"F-Fang?"

Half of a smile lit up his features. "Yes."

I couldn't help what I did next. I buried my face in my hands and cried. I let out two years worth of pain and anguish. I felt strong arms wrap around me and a hand push me into a muscular shoulder. "It's alright. You're safe now."

Even though it felt like I was safe now, I knew I never would be. I would always be haunted by my memories.

"_... Like I said, sometimes there are no words, no clever quotes to neatly sum up what's happened that day. Sometimes the day just… ends." – SSA Aaron Hotchner, Criminal Minds_


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks for all your reviews guys! They really keep me going! This chapter might be a little boring, and the next one too until some of the action/Fax gets going again, but it has to get worse before it gets better, right? Right. Oh, and I'm talking to Taylor and her boyfriend (whose name is ironically Taylor) on skype, and they say hey.**

**Note: If you don't have an account, which makes you an anonymous reviewer, I can't reply to any of your reviews when you ask questions. Just get an account; it's free, and you can get on as much as you want and maybe even start your own stories.**

**Snoopi1: Yes it's free. He probably wouldn't post them on the MR website if they weren't. I read them when he first put them up, and I can honestly say I was disappointed in them. And no it wasn't a mistake when I said that Max 3 AND Max could both 'talk to Fang.' Max 3 was supposed to be a perfect duplicate of Fang, so if Max could talk to him, so could Max 3.**

**Oh, and sorry for those people who got an email about me updating twice. There was a big mistake I had to go back and fix.**

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Chapter 14:

Iggy POV:

November 27th, 2012: 7:00 AM:

_"The defects and faults of the mind are like wounds in the body. After all imaginable care has been taken to heal them up, still there will be a scar left behind." - Francois de la Roche Foucauld_

_Beep, beep, beep._

Ugh, seven o' clock already? I pulled my pillow over my head after slamming the snooze button on my alarm. God, I hate alarm clocks.

I closed my eyes, ready to go back to sleep and –

_Beep, beep, beep._

I groaned, knowing I had to get up. I stretched, resisted the urge to throw the clock against the wall, and headed downstairs to the kitchen to prepare today's breakfast.

"Morning Ig." Fang nodded at me from the table.

"Morning." I told him. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Couldn't sleep."

I nodded. "How is she?"

"I don't know. She hasn't woken up yet."

"Well that's good." I said, pulling out a carton of eggs and a frying pan, putting it on the stove.

"I guess."

He was quiet while I put the eggs on to cook. "How are _you?_" I asked him.

"What?"

"How are you?" I repeated. "With everything that's going on."

He sighed, and looked down at the untouched soda can in front of him. "I'm not sure. Seeing her again… Having her back… it's not like what I thought it would be."

"How so?" I asked.

"It's just –"

"Morning boys." Dr. Martinez walked into the kitchen, Ella following close behind.

"Morning." Fang and I said in unison.

"What's for breakfast?" Ella asked, pulling out a carton of milk from the fridge.

"Eggs and toast." I told her, putting the toast in the toaster.

"Cool. Is Max awake yet?" She asked, directing her question at Fang.

"Nope." He told her. "Not yet."

She sighed. "I hope she's alright."

"We all do." Dr. Martinez said, starting the coffee pot. "We just have to give her time."

"_Time_ is the one thing we don't have." Fang said as I placed the food on the table and Nudge helped Gazzy limp down the stairs and to the kitchen table.

Dr. M shook her head. "Max has been through a lot Fang. She needs some time to get her bearings. She went through a great ordeal being there."

"I know." He responded, running a hand through his black hair. He stood up from his chair. "I'm going to go check on her. I'll be back." He walked up the stairs.

"What's wrong with him?" Gazzy asked, throwing food on his plate.

"He's depressed." I said, sitting down at the table casually. "He'll get over it sooner or later. I think. Can you pass the orange juice?"

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3rd Person POV:

_The worst way to miss someone is when they are right beside you and yet you know you can never have them. – Anonymous_

Fang didn't know how he felt when he walked up the stairs to Max's room. He hated the fact that she was in pain, and he couldn't do anything about it. The pain she was feeling wasn't the type that would heal easily.

He peeked in the door to Max's room to find her lying back on her bed, wide awake, her eyes darting back and forth cautiously. She whipped her head toward the door and sat up slowly, her eyes cautious and somewhat frightened.

"Hey," he said, walking into her room slowly, so he wouldn't startle her. "Are you feeling alright?"

She nodded to him, not wanting to speak.

"Do you want me to get you something to eat?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine." She scooted back on the bed, wanting to be left alone.

"The flock wants to see you." He told her.

She didn't answer, but stared at the door behind him, as if waiting for the flock to run in. She hadn't seen them in ages, and she wondered how much had changed in the time she had been gone.

"Do you want me to send them up?"

"It doesn't matter." She said blankly and without emotion. She didn't care, or realize, how mean she was being to him, and she didn't notice the slight hurt and confusion that crept up on his face. He mentally forgave her, knowing that it must be hard for her, not having been around kind people in a long time.

"I'll be right back." He said, and walked out the door. She heard his footsteps on the stairs, and heard voices speak somewhere in another room.

She relaxed somewhat, got out of the bed and walked to the window, not paying attention to the IV she had ripped out of her arm about an hour ago. She stared out the window somewhat longingly as three sets of footsteps walked quickly up the stairs and across the hall.

She sighed as the door burst open, and turned around.

"Max!" She was ambushed by hugs, the three of them almost knocking her to the ground. She winced at the pain in her stomach, but ignored it.

"It's you, it's really you!" She looked down into the faces of Ella, Nudge, and the Gasman (who, she noticed, seemed to be walking with a limp), and could feel tears come to her eyes. She saw Fang, Iggy, and her mother looking in from the doorway, Iggy and her mother with large smiles on their faces.

She felt her heart beat faster as she looked down at them and felt her face curling into a smile for the first time in a long time. She hugged them tightly and they hugged her back, never wanting to let each other go. She could feel tears of happiness slip down her face and she wiped them away.

Pulling them closer, she whispered, "I missed you guys so much."

"We missed you too." She heard Nudge say, her voice thick with tears.

Max smiled, the feeling of being happy strange and unfamiliar to her. She felt something inside her that she hadn't felt in a long time, but couldn't comprehend what it was. Was this how it felt to be safe and happy? Was this what it felt like to be normal? She couldn't remember. And yet…

She liked it.

She loved the feeling of having her family around her after so long. She wanted this moment to be put on pause. She wanted to never feel pain again. She wanted to never let them go. So many things she wanted that she knew she could never have.

But for now, she was happy. And that was all that really mattered.

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**Review!**

**Oh, and has anyone else read the 23 chapters of MR: Angel on the Max-Dan-Wiz website? If you have, feel free to PM me about them.**


	15. Chapter 15

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So, I meant to post this yesterday, but I got distracted with the Super Bowl and my family yelling at the TV.

**There's a hint of Eggy in this chapter; just a little for Lilac Rose6. And we have another problem popping up, which I'm sure you'll figure out. Other than that, I couldn't reply to anyone's reviews because fanfiction isn't letting me use Private Messaging and Review Replying. Why? I have no idea.**

**Anyway…**

**Review!**

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Chapter 15:

November 27th, 2012 8:25 AM:

3rd Person POV:

"_Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right, and what is easy." – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling_

The static on the flickering television was easily ignored by the people of the house. They were so caught up in the renewal of their family – something they had dreamed of for so long – that none of them noticed the chaos that was happening on the screen.

"…In other news, a decorated naval officer by the name of Captain James Marshall was found murdered in his home yesterday evening by his brother, who had flown in to give the Captain a surprise visit. No reports of how the investigation is going with that and no news on how the rest of the family is taking this dreadful news."

The chatter in the house became louder; the TV was still ignored as it continued, flickering now and again.

The screen turned onto a woman who was leaning on her hand on the desk in front of her, apparently the man's coworker. "A few weeks ago there was a report in Seattle, Washington about a sort of unidentified flying object. It has only been realized recently that this has been happening in a few states all along the west coast, including two sightings in California, and one in Oregon."

She paused before continuing. "It seems that the object isn't actually a UFO. If our sources tell us correctly, it is actually a flying... Wait, this can't be right." She looked toward somewhere behind the camera and said, "Are you sure you typed this right?"

There was a mumbling behind the camera and the shuffling of papers, and the woman raised an eyebrow, and finished her sentence, "Our sources tell us that it is actually a flying _human_ that has been spotted, or something that greatly resembles a human being; here's a picture."

A blurry photograph filled the screen. A bright sky lit up the photo making it blurry, but you could see the dim outline of what seemed to be a small person with bright blonde hair.

The picture flickered as a bolt of lightning hit near an electrical wire, and the entire house plunged into darkness.

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Iggy POV:

_The love of a family is life's greatest blessing. – Anonymous_

"Ah, damn it. Not again." I said, walking to the kitchen to get some candles. "Stupid storm. Blowing out the damn power." I grumbled, pulling the candles out the drawer and lighting them.

"I'll be right back, Igs." Fang said, pulling on a jacket. "I'm going check the fuse box; see if I can get the lights to come back on."

I nodded, bringing the candles up the stairs. "Everyone alright?" I asked, walking into the room.

They nodded back. "Another power outage?" Gazzy asked.

"Yeah. Fang went outside to see if he can get the lights to come back on." I told them, setting a candle on Max's bedside table.

"In the rain?" Dr. Martinez said.

"Yeah." I told her, taking a swift sideways glance at Max, who was standing there somewhat awkwardly, not knowing if she was welcome to say anything. I walked over to her and hugged her. She flinched at first, but a second later she hugged me back. "It's good to have you back." I told her as the lights flickered back on.

I heard the front door open and shut, and Fang's footsteps coming up the stairs. "How'd you guys get the lights to turn back on?" He asked, walking in the door to the room soaked and shivering.

We all stared at him. "What?" Nudge asked. "We didn't turn the lights on; we thought you did?"

He stared, looking back and forth between all of us. "No… I was about to open the fuse box and check to see if I could fix it, when the lights turned back on. I thought it was you."

"Well, we didn't do anything."

"Neither did I."

"You think they just came back on?"

"I doubt it. Especially with a storm like this."

An awkward silence ensued over us as the wind raged on even more violently around the house. The windows rattled, but the lights stayed on.

Surprisingly, Max was the one who spoke up. "This may not be the greatest time to bring this up, but where's Angel?" She asked us, putting a hand on Gazzy and Nudge's shoulders.

The Gasman flinched at the mention of his sister's name, but no other reaction came from the flock.

I looked to Fang. "You want me to tell her?"

He shrugged. "Go ahead."

I turned and faced Max. "Honestly, we don't know."

Her eyebrows scrunched together, her face seemingly a little less closed off. "What do you mean?"

"He means that we have absolutely no idea where she is." Fang said. "To make a long story short: she tried to take over the flock, we stopped her, and the next day she was gone; she took Total with her."

She gritted her teeth. "When?"

"A few weeks after you went missing." I told her.

Silence filled up the room. "So," I asked Max, "do you want me to make you something for breakfast?"

"It doesn't matter. I don't really have that big of an appetite anymore." She said, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Well, I'm gonna go clean up everyone's mess downstairs." I told them, walking out, trying to get away from all of the tension.

I heard footsteps walking down the stairs and as I started putting the dishes in the sink.

"Need some help?" I heard Ella's voice say.

"Nah, I got it." I told her. "Thanks though."

"No problem." She said, jumping up to sit on the counter next to the sink.

"So, why aren't you spending time with your sister?" I asked, scrubbing the dishes.

She made a face. "Too much tension. Especially between Max and Fang. Did you see the way that they were acting around each other? Max would barely look at him let alone meet his gaze. And Fang… he was so _blunt_ with her."

"Fang's always blunt." I said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Not with Max. At least, not like that."

I rolled my eyes. "I think you may be overreacting a bit, but I know what you mean." I said. "All the progress they made in their relationship, and now they're probably going to have to start over."

It took a while before Ella spoke again. "That's not what I meant. I mean, yeah, it's awkward between them, but what if Max doesn't feel the same way about him anymore?"

I stopped what I was doing and looked at her. "I don't think so."

"Love fades."

I wiped my hands on the dishtowel and leaned against the counter. "But, this is Max and Fang we're talking about here."

"And? Take away the wings and you're all still teenagers. Teenagers fall in and out of love all the time. It happens all the time; not to everyone, but it _does_ happen."

I opened my mouth to retort, but Ella cut me off again. "And even if she does still love him, she probably doesn't realize it anymore."

I sighed. "But this is _Max and Fang_ we're talking about here."

"So?" She asked.

"_So,_ it's just… different with them." I said, trying to put what I was trying to say into words.

She sighed. "Look, Iggy. I'm not trying to say that I don't _want _them to be in love anymore, because I do. It's just… Max has been at that horrible place for so long… She didn't have any hope, any comfort, anyone that actually cared about her." She took a short pause before continuing. "It might be hard for her to love again. She's been through so much… Well, even _she_ has to have a breaking point somewhere."

"I guess." I told her quietly.

We were quiet for a few minutes, before Ella spoke again. "On to a less serious subject: What was with the lights changing like that?"

I shrugged, glad to be on a topic that was less awkward for me. "No clue, but I wouldn't think too much about it. With the weather being as crazy as it can be lately, the wires are probably just adapting or something."

She laughed. "Yeah, let's go with that."

I smiled at her and we talked about little trivial things as I began to put the dishes in the cabinets. The tension and awkwardness in the house had dissolved a bit, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was still wrong.

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3rd Person POV:

_It's over, and I feel so alone._

_This is a sadness I've never known._

_How did I let the sweetest of dreams slip away?_

_And I'm afraid the hurt is here to stay._

– _It's Over by The Cheetah Girls_

She stared through the window at the flock longingly after she had rewired the electric wires so the lights would turn back on.

Her heart felt heavy. She wished she still had that; that kind of support and family that they had. She messed up. She made a huge mistake. And she knew that she couldn't go back and change the past. To change how she had acted.

She felt a tear fall down her cheek as she continued to watch them standing around their leader and mother-figure who they once thought was dead. They were all smiling, and standing around without a care.

She wished she could have that again. She'd give anything to have that again.

She stared longingly through the window.

"Are we going in?" Her friend whispered next to her. "Or are we just going to stay out here in the rain and catch the flu?"

She looked up into the dark sky. She hadn't even noticed the rain falling hard on her back and hair. "Just give me a minute." She told him, her eyes scanning over the people still standing in the room. "I don't want to leave just yet."

Her friend curled up against her side, his fur leaving a wet patch on her old clothes. "It's freezing out here."

"I know. We'll leave soon." She said, not taking her eyes off the inside of the room.

"I'm sure if you apologize enough, they'll let you stay."

She finally tore her eyes away from her old friends and family and glared at him. "No."

Her companion seemed to glare back, but she couldn't tell. Choosing to ignore him, she turned back to the window.

"You and your stupid pride." She heard him mumble.

She didn't comment, because her pride wasn't the only thing keeping her away, and they both knew it. It was her fear. Fear that neither of them would be accepted back again.

She gave a long sigh. "Come on. Let's go before someone sees us. We'll come back again another time, when the weather lightens up."

He took off immediately, not waiting for her. She stared through the window longingly once more and then flew off, not looking back.


	16. Chapter 16

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There's a blog post this chapter, so feel free to leave comments. There might be one more chapter after this and then I won't be updating for maybe two weeks because I'll be in Disney World for Mardi Gras! Woot Woot! I'll try to write a lot when I'm there, but I can't make any promises. So when I don't update, I haven't abandoned this story, I promise. :)

**Thanks to all my reviewers, and to the following singers/bands: the All-American Rejects (Fallin' Apart), Boys Like Girls ft. Taylor Swift (Two is Better Than One), and Billy Currington (Must Be Doin' Something Right), for giving me the inspiration to write the Max/Fang part of this chapter.**

**Who's ready for the next Max Ride book to come out tomorrow? I know I am.**

**Snoopi1 – Yes, I do love Harry Potter. I've read the books more than three times (on my fourth time now, actually) and my heart belongs to Tom Felton (a.k.a. Draco Malfoy).**

**FAX FLUFF ALERT!**

**Review!**

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Chapter 16:

**Fang's Blog:**

**November 28****th****, 2010**

**1:22 AM**

**Visitor Number: …**

**Everything is… different.**

**I had given up hope of ever finding her for a long time, so when we went to search for her, I just expected it to be another wild goose chase. It wasn't. I never expected that we would actually find her. **_**Alive.**_

**My thoughts are scattered, and I don't know what to do anymore. What's the flock supposed to do? Are we supposed to start back up on our mission to save the world even though Max might not be ready for it? Are we supposed to just let precious time go by and wait for her to heal, physically and emotionally, even though she might **_**never **_**heal?**

**Do we just give up?**

**And Max…**

**She's changed so much, and I guess if we ever did find her, I would have expected everything to just go back exactly the way it was before. I know now that I was just living in some fantasy.**

**She's… broken. Not herself. She's been through so much and I'm not sure things can ever go back to normal. And yeah, I know that 'whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger' but this is… different.**

**She's closed off, and holds back. It seems like she doesn't feel like she belongs anymore. She doesn't want to meet anyone's eyes, especially mine. And she barely talks anymore.**

**I'm not even sure she loves me anymore.**

**Fly on,**

**Fang**

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Max POV:

November 28th 2011

2:46 AM:

_Love is like a puzzle. When you're in love, all the pieces fit together perfectly. When your heart gets broken, it takes a while to put the pieces back together again. – Anonymous_

I leaned back against the wall behind my bed and sighed, glancing at Nudge and Gazzy, who were fast asleep on either side of me. I blew a piece of Nudge's hair out of my face as Gazzy subconsciously moved closer to me.

_Knock, Knock._

"Come in." I called softly to the door, not taking my eyes off of Nudge and Gazzy.

The door opened and Fang walked in. "Just wanted to see if you need anything before I try to get some sleep."

"I'm good. Thanks though." I told him as Nudge shifted in her sleep.

He motioned to Nudge and Gazzy. "How long have they been asleep?"

"A few hours. I don't remember them having that kind of energy."

"They're glad your back."

An awkward silence settled over the two of us, and Fang shifted on his feet.

"Everyone else is asleep?" I whispered.

He nodded, and bit his lip. "Can we talk?"

I waved a hand in the air carelessly. "Shoot."

He shook his head. "Not here."

I raised an eyebrow at him but didn't question him. "You might have to help me get away from these two. They have iron grips."

He rolled his eyes and walked over, helping pull the two of them away from me.

I stood and straightened my shirt that I had changed into. "Where are we going?"

He shrugged and walked out the door, motioning for me to follow him. We walked down the stairs, out of the house and stopped on the front porch, facing out to the yard and the road in the distance. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still filled with dark clouds.

I leaned against the railing of the porch and Fang leaned next to me. "Well?" I asked expectantly.

He stared out into the yard silently. "I wanted to apologize."

"For?"

He glanced over at me. "For not finding you earlier."

I sighed. "Fang…"

He turned to me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Max, I'm so sorry. I should have looked for you and found you before... before it got this bad."

I shrugged his hands off of my shoulders and turned away from him. "You don't have to apologize. I don't blame you." I wrapped my arms around myself, bracing myself from the cold air.

"Cold?" he asked, taking off his jacket and placing it on my shoulders.

"Thanks, but don't change the subject." I told him. "It really isn't your fault."

He didn't comment. "They killed her in front of us, you know. For two years I thought it was you, and when I found out it wasn't…" He paused. "You know, when Jeb told us about this _lead _he had on you, I thought it was some kind of sick joke he was playing on us. I didn't want to go, but Iggy convinced me…" His eyes seemed distant as he spoke.

"It was just so strange with you not being there." He added after a while.

"It was strange for me too. Not being with my family." I shifted on my feet awkwardly.

"You wanna talk about it?"

I thought carefully before I spoke. "It was… excruciating." I told him slowly. "I guess that would be a good word. There isn't really a way to describe it." I said, my hands shaking.

"Max, we don't have to talk about it now, if you don't want to. We can talk about it later, when you're feeling better."

"I'm fine. I'm not fragile." I said, pausing. "I've learned a lot. About myself, about… everything. But just being there was painful. Not having anything to distract myself with."

"What do you mean?" he asked me curiously.

"Well… Let me put it this way: When was the last time that you spent one day without anything that could be distracting. Computer, TV, music, iPod, whatever. When was the last time you just sat there, doing nothing?"

He thought about it for a moment, trying to figure out where I was going with this. "I don't think I've ever been without _something._"

"Of course you haven't. And being… where I was, I figured out why. When you're doing something, your mind is completely occupied and focused on what you're doing. When you're not doing anything, your mind wanders. People distract themselves with things because they don't want to face the horrors that they know their minds can come up with. It's scary being alone with just your thoughts to keep you company. _Very_ scary. Sometimes, being alone with my thoughts was more painful than being with…" I let my voice trail off. "The mind is an amazing thing. You'd be surprised of the things you come up with if you have the time."

He nodded thoughtfully, and I pulled his leather jacket around me tighter. We were quiet for a few moments before he spoke again. "They're happy to have you back. We all are."

I wasn't really sure how I felt about the way this conversation was going. "I'm glad to be back with them again. I'm just not sure if things are going to be the same way as they were. I'm a different person, I know that. I've changed; we've all changed."

"Everything's different." He agreed.

"Very different."

"Do you think we can pick up where we left off?" he asked, not facing me. I could tell that there was an underlying meaning to his question.

I glanced over at him, and looked down at my feet. "I don't know."

"I understand." He said, his voice sounding blank.

"I'm sorry. My emotions are just… messed up right now." I told him apologetically.

He clutched the railing tightly, his knuckles turning white. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. It never was. I just… wish things could be different."

I looked out into the dark yard. "So, what happened with Angel? I mean, I know what happened, I just…"

Fang sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. "We had just come back from your memorial service so no one was in a good mood. Angel said something about how we should just move on. She told us that we should forget about you." He shook his head. "It pretty much went downhill from there. We got in a fight, and the next day, Angel was gone along with Total."

He walked over to the porch swing and sat down, patting the spot next to him. I sat down on the swing, and he said, "The flock's falling apart."

"You seem to be holding them together just fine."

He shook his head again. "I could never be as good a leader as you are."

I noticed that he used the present tense. "Don't you mean, 'were'?"

He gave me a strange look. "No, of course not. I meant what I said. You're still the leader of the flock, Max. I was just… holding down the fort until you got back."

I didn't respond and Fang looked down at his watch.

"It's almost 3:30. Maybe we should go back inside." He told me.

I shook my head. "You go. I wanna stay outside for a little while longer. It's been a while since I've had some fresh air."

"You want me to stay with you?" he asked.

"You can if you want to." I told him, and he settled back down into his seat.

We were quiet for a while.

"Can I ask you something?"

I nodded. "You already have, but go ahead."

He ignored my comment, and said, "Why won't you look at me?"

"I've looked at you."

"You haven't looked me in the eye since you woke up. What are you hiding?" he asked.

I shifted awkwardly. "Do we have to have this conversation?"

He raised an eyebrow at me, but stayed silent.

I shifted again and glanced over at him. "Can you stop looking at me like I've done something wrong? Haven't I been through enough to not have to be interrogated like someone who's committed a

He stood up and grabbed my arm, stopping me from walking through the door. I yanked my arm away from him as soon as he touched me, and cradled my arm to my chest unconsciously. "Don't touch me." I told him, my heart beating quickly.

He put his hands up in defense and studied me for a moment, his eyes coming to rest on the top of my head. "You have something in your hair." He muttered.

He stepped forward, raising his hand. I flinched away from his hand, and he looked at me with confusion. Realization flooded through him. "Max, you know I would never do that. I would _never _hit you."

"Anyone is capable of anything, Fang. I learned that the hard way." I told him, my voice shaking, stepping backwards toward the door.

He stepped forward again, looking hurt. "Max you know I wouldn't –"

"Just stop." I told him, putting a hand out to stop him from moving any closer to me. "Stop trying to make things the same way they were. Things can't ever be the same. _We_ can't be the same."

He stepped back like I had punched him. "After everything we've been through, you're just going to give it all up? Just like that?" He asked, astonished.

"It's not that I'm giving up. It's that I'm starting over."

"So, there's still a chance that we can get back to where we were?"

"I don't know." I answered honestly.

Even though it's been a while, I knew him well enough to recognize the sadness on his face.

"I'm sorry." I spoke softly. "You're still my best friend. But I don't know what I feel about you anymore."

"Forget it. It doesn't matter." He said, pulling on his jacket. "You get some sleep. I'm gonna go for a fly."

"Wait, Fang!" I ran after him and followed him out into the dark yard near a giant oak tree. I grabbed his arm as he was about to leap in the air; my hand stung where his arm touched me. "Please don't be mad at me."

He shook his head. "I'm not mad. I understand. It's just that…" He looked up at the sky, and I could feel the rain start to come down again. He pulled his arm out of my grasp and sighed. "All this time I'd been waiting for you to magically appear; I had almost lost all hope. But here you are against all odds; after two years of us thinking you were dead. I thought I would be happy that you're back. I thought everything would go back to normal and be alright again." He paused. "I just never thought that you being back again would hurt more than you being gone."

I stared at him, my hands dropping to my side. The rain poured down on us, but neither of us bothered to notice.

"So that's how you feel is it?" I had to yell to have my voice heard over the rain. "You just give up after I tell you that I need more time to figure out how I feel?"

"That's not why and you know it. Don't try to turn this on me." He yelled back, and I struggled to hear him over the rain.

"What happened to you Fang? You were so persistent back then, and now after two seconds you give up? What happened to the guy who would never back down when I ran away? What happened to the _man _that was always there for me when I need him? Where is he, Fang?"

"That guy is gone. He's been through too much pain, and he's changed just like you have, just like the flock has, and just like Dr. Martinez and Ella have." He paused for a second, breathing heavy, his hair dripping with water. "And you can't have it both ways! You say you don't know how you feel, but you want me to fight for you? It doesn't work like that Max."

"You used to never give up!" I screamed at him. "You never gave up until I gave in! What the hell happened to you?"

"What do you want me to do?" He yelled back. "I'm tired of fighting for you! I'm tired of fighting a lost cause! I love you, Max! I always have, and I always will! But you can't just expect me to keep fighting for you if you keep knocking me down and rejecting me! This is between both of us! Not just you!"

"I know that!" I told him angrily, my heart racing. "But –"

"You wanna know what happened to me?" he asked angrily. "_Time_ happened to me. I was sick and tired of waiting for something that I thought would never come. When you were gone I had no idea what I was supposed to do." He gestured to the house. "None of us did. We thought you were dead!"

"_I was as good as dead_, _Fang_." I screamed, feeling angry tears run down my face. "I was in hell there! I thought you knew me! I thought you knew that I would never do something so stupid as to sacrifice myself like that, especially after everything I had worked so hard for. I thought you would come for me, but obviously _I was wrong._"

"_Don't turn this on me!_" He said, taking a step toward me. "_We thought you were dead. _What did you want us to do? Go on a wild goose chase for two years? We had no idea where to start and we thought your body was destroyed in the explosion. What did you expect me to do, Maximum? _Enlighten_ me."

I narrowed my eyes at him as he used my full name. "I would've thought my _boyfriend and best friend _would have known me better than that."

He threw his hands up in exasperation. "_We thought you had died._ Max 3 died right in front of us! How were we supposed to know that wasn't you? Nudge barely talked to anyone and cried herself to sleep every night. Gazzy stopped making bombs. Iggy was on edge and nervous _all the time, _but he got over his own fears to help the kids. Angel blew up and left. And I…" He paused, breathing hard, and stared at me. His eyes were filled with pain. "You can't blame us Max. We would have looked if we would have known. You know that. But how were we supposed to know and discuss it if every time we heard your name, all we felt was pain?"

"It doesn't change the past." I told him, taking a step forward. "After everything I've been through, I hoped, and I prayed to a God I don't even _believe_ in, that someone, _anyone, _would find me. _I gave up, Fang._ I gave up on all of you. He kept telling me things like, 'they think you're dead,' or, 'they will never come for you.' He told me that none of you wanted to look for me, that you had all given up, and were glad to be without me. I didn't know what else to do, so I _gave_ _up_."

"Why… Why would you ever think we wouldn't come for you?" He took another step forward.

"What else was I supposed to think Fang?" I asked him desperately, my tears being washed away from the rain. "I was alone. I didn't have _anyone._ I didn't have anything else to believe in anymore. I gave up on _you._" I told him, poking him in the chest on the word _you. _I shook my head at him. "You told me you would always be there for me, through thick and thin. But where were you when it really mattered?"

His eyes flashed dangerously. "_You_ are the one who would rather rescue herself." He said, poking me back on the word _you._ "_You _are the one who didn't want to be a damsel in distress. I thought you didn't need anyone else to save you?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "That's different and you damn well know it."

He opened his mouth to comment, but thought better of it and shook his head. "I'm not going to fight with you anymore. We both know we could go back and forth with this all day, and I honestly don't want to fight. Not after everything that's happened."

I felt a flush of anger take over me. "Oh, so make me look like the bad guy." I said through clenched teeth.

He looked like he was struggling to control his composure, but he waved me off as if I didn't say anything. "Don't start this again."

I leaned forward as if daring him to say something. "_Watch me._"

Two seconds later I felt the rough bark of the tree pressing into my back, and rough hands holding my shoulders to the tree. My eyes widened and I struggled to get away from him, but he held me still. I struggled as much as I could, but I couldn't break free from him. I felt a hand hold my jaw steady, and I opened my eyes.

He held my gaze as he spoke. "I never wanted to hurt you. If I could take back every second of just sitting around believing you were dead, I would in a heartbeat. I'd go back in time and change it all. Even if I had to look for two years to find you, I would still change it. But I can't change the past, Max. And I need to make sure you know that if I could, I would go back and do everything in my power to change what's happened."

"I know." I whispered weakly.

It was at that point that the two of us realized how close we were to each other. I could feel his warm minty breath blowing on my face, and the feeling of the two of us being so close together was one of the most familiar things that I had felt in a long time.

Could it really happen? After everything I had been through, was I still able to feel that _love_ that Fang and I used to have? Was I able to feel anything besides pain anymore? Anything besides sadness? Could things get back to the way they were two years ago? Could we pick up where we left off?

The answer had been staring me right in the face for the past few days, and I hadn't even realized. The look in Fang's eyes told me all I needed to know. He was willing to start over again, for me. He was willing to give up all the progress we had made in our relationship, for me. He was ready to give up everything, for me.

We could do it. It would take a while, but we could do it. We could get back to the way things were. We could do anything, as long as we did it together.

Mustering up all of the courage and energy I had left, I leaned forward, and waited for him to do the same. He stared at me, searching every inch of my face for what he should do. He seemed to be fighting an inner battle inside himself, one I knew he had to solve on his own.

Less than a second later he seemed to have given up, and closed the distance between us, melding us together in a familiar way that seemed to make me shiver down to my soul.

I leaned into his kiss, trying to get as close to him as possible. The memories the situation brought back had my mind on overdrive, but I clamped down on all of my thoughts and focused on the here and now; I didn't bother with any consequences it could bring later, or any possibilities it could open up. We didn't pay attention to the rain and wind that had us soaked and dripping.

At that point, we didn't care about anything except each other. And that was all I wanted, or needed.

For now.

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**Ah, seven pages of typing pure FAX fluff. *stretches and cracks fingers.***

**Review?**


	17. Chapter 17

**Woop Woop! I never remember how much I love Disney until I'm actually there.**

**Snoopi1 – Mardi Gras = A Louisiana only holiday. I'm not sure of the day it starts, but it's like a week-two week long celebration. It's celebrated with parades and king cakes, and parties, etc. It's pretty awesome.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers! You guys are great! Keep the reviews coming! And thanks to Two Beds and a Coffee Machine by Savage Garden for giving me the inspiration for this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize isn't mine and anything you don't is mine. Thanks to the song We Are One by the Lion King for helping me with part of this chapter.**

**

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**

Iggy POV:

November 28th 2012, 2:00 AM:

"Well?" he asked anxiously, waiting on Ella to give him an answer.

She turned from the window where she was watching Max and Fang, and turned to glare at him. "Damn. You win." She took a ten dollar bill out of her pocket and handed it to him. "I should have never made that stupid bet."

"What did I tell you?" I asked, looking out the window toward Max and Fang. "I _knew _Max still loved him. Don't mess with the genius."

She snorted. "Genius my ass."

"You're just jealous you lost." I said, smirking.

"I may have lost the battle, but I'll _definitely _win the war." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, we'll see about that."

She laughed and smacked my arm playfully. "C'mon _genius_. Let's get to bed before the two lovebirds find out we've been spying on them."

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3rd Person POV:

4:15 AM:

"_You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"_

"_THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_

"Impressive. I didn't think that they would succeed." Said the man, looking through the pictures in the file, tossing them on his desk casually. The boy standing in front of him glanced at the pictures and mentally shook his head.

"You underestimate them." The boy said.

"Apparently so." Said the man, setting the file down on his desk and putting his feet up. "So do you agree to our terms?"

The boy hesitated for a second and said, "Yes. I just have one thing I want to add."

"And what would that be?" asked the man with a casual smile on his face.

"My friends… I don't want them to know anything about this. I haven't told them about your… proposition, and I want to keep it to where they don't know anything. I don't want them to think I've betrayed them."

"So you're going to lie." The man smirked. "Alright then. They will have no idea that I have even spoken to you. Are you nervous about our partnership?"

The boy tensed and ran a hand through his hair. "No." He said, putting a steely tone to his voice. "I just have doubts."

"Doubts lead to fear and fear leads to a person's own destruction." Said the man, leaning toward the boy and putting his hands on his desk. "There is still time for you to back out. No consequences."

Both of them knew that this was a lie.

The boy shook his head and said, "I'm not backing out."

The man smiled. "Excellent."

Shaking his head, the boy turned around and began walking out the door, wondering what he just got himself into. He stopped with his hand on the doorknob. "Just for the record, I'm not doing this for you."

"I know."

"I'm doing it for my friends... My family. To protect them. I don't want them to be hurt."

"I know." The man repeated. "And I respect that. Most men will do almost anything to protect his family from anything he thinks may hurt them, and I didn't think you would be any different."

The boy nodded and turned the doorknob, to come face-to-face with two guards. "What's this about? I thought we had an agreement."

The man motioned to the guards. "We did. You said you didn't want your friends to know anything about our agreement, am I correct? Well, I'll think they'll be a bit suspicious if you come back unscathed, don't you?"

The boy blinked, knowing the man had enjoyed finding a loophole in his request. He closed his eyes, and waited for his fate.

* * *

Fang POV:

5:45 AM:

_If I had to choose between loving you and breathing, I would use my last breath to say I Love You._

"Marshmallows?" I asked her, setting down her cup of hot chocolate in front of her.

"Yes, please." She answered, taking a sip.

I set the marshmallows on the table between us and sat down at the table in front of her. The tension in the air was obvious between the two of us, but neither of us bothered to point it out.

"About what happened between us back there…" Max started, biting her lip. "I think that maybe we should pretend that it never happened. At least, for now. I have so much on my mind right now, I don't think –"

"I understand." I told her, ignoring the pain in my chest. "Forget it. Never happened."

"Thank you."

We didn't speak, until I decided to break the silence. "I think your mom invited Jeb over so he can see you."

"When?"

"My guess is, he'll probably be here around noon or so."

She nodded and took another sip of her hot chocolate. "He'll probably want me to get right back up again like no time has passed and get back to saving the world."

"He may surprise you."

"I doubt that. At this point, nothing can surprise me." She said, tracing the rim of the coffee mug with a slim finger.

I sighed. "You know, I've been thinking and I realize that there are a lot of things we don't understand. And that the only thing we actually know is that things don't always go as we plan." Max snorted, but he ignored it and continued. "But you know that every day we'll never turn away from you, especially when things are falling apart all around us."

She was quiet for a moment, taking in what I said. "If there's so much I must be, can I still just be me the way I am? Can I trust in my own heart or am I just one part of some big plan?"

"You're journey has only begun, Max. There'll be pain and there'll be joy, but the one thing I know for sure is that we'll be there for you. We're one, you and I. We're like the earth and the sky, one family under the sun. All of the wisdom for you to lead and all of the courage that you need, you'll find when you see that you're not alone."

She didn't respond, but stared at the hot chocolate in her cup. "I think I need to lie down. Goodnight Fang."

I sighed. "Hey, Max?" She paused, one foot on the stairs. She didn't turn around, but waited to see what I had to say. "I may regret the way we ended, but I'll never regret what we had."

Max hesitated for a second, before continuing up the stairs, not saying a word.

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**Review! And remember, there's still time to put in your 'blog comments' from the blog post in the last chapter.**


	18. Chapter 18

**So, I'm not dead. And my ten page English paper on Robin Hood is perfect, along with my six other projects I had to do, so I can finally focus on fanfiction again. Woop Woop! Ah, how I love writing. :)**

**Plus, the next chapter is already written, so it won't take long until the next update.**

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Chapter 18:

3rd Person POV:

November 28th, 2012, 7:36 AM:

"_Because animals are property, what we consider as 'humane treatment' for them, we would regard as torture for a human." – Gary L. Francione_

Dr. Valencia Martinez walked down the steps quickly, unconsciously glancing over her shoulder as she all but ran toward the door. She looked out the peephole, trying to see through the fog and pouring rain. When she was satisfied with what she had seen, she opened the door and ushered the man standing outside into her house.

"You're here early, Jeb."

Jeb sighed. "Yes, I know. I hope I didn't wake anyone."

"No one besides me." Valencia Martinez muttered under her breath. "Coffee?" She asked as the two walked into the kitchen.

"Yes, please." He responded, sitting down at the table. "So, Valencia… Is what you told me on the phone true?"

"Of course it's true. Do you think I'd lie about something like this?" She asked exasperatedly.

"Well, I just thought that… After all these years… How could she still be…" Jeb's voice trailed off into an uneasy silence.

"It was a shock to me too." Valencia paused, before continuing in a stern, but hushed tone. "Now you listen here, Jeb Batchelder. That girl has been through too much. Do _not,_ under any circumstances, tell her anything that would make her go overboard."

Jeb waved a hand carelessly as if to wave away her comment. "Max is a strong girl. That's the way I raised her."

"Ha!" Dr. Martinez scoffed, and Jeb raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's so funny?" Jeb asked, insulted.

"Max trusts you about as far as she can throw you." Valencia answered, pouring two cups of the coffee and handing one to Jeb. She stirred her coffee thoughtfully. "They've changed; all of them, Jeb. They aren't the same flock that they used to be. They can't just get up and go out to 'save the world.' Max needs time. She's in a fragile state right now."

"The world is in a fragile state right now." Jeb pointed out. "And besides, we don't have much time left before –"

Dr. Martinez cut him off. "I don't want to hear it."

"We have to do _something_. The end of life as we know it is coming, and _fast._"

Dr. Martinez raised her hands in exasperation. "For heaven's sake Jeb! She's only 17!"

"But she's not alone!"

"They can barely hold themselves together as it is! Max has been through so much she doesn't know who to trust anymore. She flinches at the slightest touch and barely talks. It's like she feels she doesn't belong with us anymore. She tries to hold it together but she can't. The rest of the flock has no idea what to do with themselves now, because the life they've been living for the past two years has been turned upside down! Nudge doesn't talk a lot anymore, and fashion is one of the last things in her mind."

Dr. Martinez continued, not able to stop the rant she was on. "Gazzy and Iggy haven't been making bombs anymore, and Iggy tries hard to hold everything together, even though he knows he can't. And Fang…" She sighed, her anger deflating. "He wants so bad for the flock to be back to normal again. But I'm not sure if there was ever a _normal _for them in the first place. First Max, then Angel…" Dr. Martinez rubbed her temple.

"Times are different, Val. Things can't stay the same forever."

"I know, I know." She glanced at the clock. "They should be getting up soon." She sent a warning glare at Jeb. "Don't overdo it."

* * *

9:43 AM:

Fang shook his head at Jeb, who was seated at the head of the table. "So, what you're saying is, you really couldn't care how Max is feeling, you just want her to get up and do what you want her to do."

"No, of course not!"Jeb pinched the bridge of his nose, and took a deep breath to calm himself. "All I'm saying is that _Max. Has. A. Mission._ She can't just sit around all day trying to forget something _she'll never forget!_"

Fang slammed his hand against the table, startling everyone. "That's your _daughter_, Jeb." He pointed his hand to the stairs in the direction of Max's room, where she was still sleeping. "Don't you even _care_ how she feels? Don't you even _care_ that she's hurt and scared?"

"Of course I care! How can you think I don't care about her! She's my daughter, for God's sake!"

"_Then start acting like you're her father and not some person who just wants something from her!"_ Fang yelled. "She's staying here until she gets better!"

"She's _leaving_ to finish her mission!" Jeb shot back.

"She's _staying._"

"She's _leaving._"

"_Staying!"_

"_Leaving!"_

"_STAYING!"_

"_LEAVING!"_

"_STAY –"_

"Um, can I interrupt?" Max's voice cut Fang off in the middle of his shouting. All eyes swung toward her, and she shifted awkwardly, not liking the fact that everyone was staring at her.

"I couldn't help but overhear…" She started, unsure as of what to say.

"Half of China couldn't help but overhear." Iggy muttered sarcastically.

Max ignored him. "I know the two of you are trying to do what's best for me, but I think I'm old enough to make decisions for myself."

"She's right." Dr. Martinez put in. "Maybe you two should let her decide on her own. If she wants to go, she can go. If she doesn't, she can stay. It's as easy as that."

Both Jeb and Fang looked at each other uneasily.

"I want to go."

Jeb looked smug while Fang looked at her incredulously. "Are you serious?" he asked. "After everything you've been through?"

"Yes. That's exactly why I want to go." Max gave him a look that said, _We'll talk later._

Fang sighed, and shook his head. "I'll be back later. I'm going for a fly."

"In the rain?" Nudge asked. She didn't get an answer, because Fang was already out the door.

Max didn't even bother to acknowledge him as she heard the front door slam shut. She turned to Jeb. "Do you have any –"

_SNAP!_

"What in the world?" Dr. Martinez muttered under her breath and quickly walked to the front door, everyone else following close behind her.

She swung the door open and they crowded onto the porch. Their eyes immediately focused on Fang, who was crouching over a small figure lying on the ground. He reached out a hand to touch the figure and turned it over so the rest of them could see its angelic face and the face of its furry companion.

Silence ensued.

"You know, by this point you'd think we would've expected something like this to happen." Iggy said casually.

"I'll say." Gazzy said, his eyes a mixture of rage and confusion.

"Well…" Said the figure on the ground, giving an awkward laugh. "Long time no see?"

Angel was back.

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**Review!**

**Like I said at the top, the next chapter is already done, so it won't take as long for updates.**

**Oh, and I'm posting up a little fluffy Fax 'one-shot/story/thing.' It's short, but cute. (So I've been told.)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Woop Woop! I wrote this chapter around the same time as chapter 18, but hopefully it doesn't suck as much.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride, but I own the plot. Any resemblance or reference to a real person is completely unintentional.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers and everyone that turned in blog posts. They'll be in this chapter at the very end.**

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Chapter 19:

Fang POV:

November 28th, 2012 at 11:56 AM:

_Families are about love overcoming emotional torture. - Matt Groening_

"And then, after I left the flock, I didn't really have a place to be, so I traveled here and there and tried to find a permanent place to stay for a while." She said, sipping her hot chocolate and pulling her towel closer to her for warmth. She pulled Total, who was on her lap, closer to her.

"How long have you been spying on us?" I asked her, my arms folded over my chest.

"I wasn't _spying._" She said, biting her lip. Everyone exchanged glances. "I was just… trying to get up the courage to come and talk to all of you."

"Of course you were." Gazzy muttered, and Max popped him on the head. "Gazzy!" She scolded.

Angel ignored them. "I figured out that Max was back and she would need to get back on her mission soon. And I have information you might need."

"What kind of information?" Max asked her.

"_Important_ information. Information that might help you save the world." She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper and a small stack of photographs. "I haven't been sitting around all day doing nothing. I've done my research." She handed Max the piece of paper and one of the photos and the rest of the flock crowded around her.

"And, what am I looking at here?" She asked, waving the photograph in the air. "All it looks like is a bunch of machinery in an old airplane parts factory or something."

"That's what I thought. It's supposedly been abandoned for over 25 years, and I didn't doubt it." Angel said. "Until I found that piece of paper." Angel said, nodding toward the paper in Max's hand.

Max glanced down at the paper and began to read. _"September 19__th__, 1984: Dear SP, I've done it. I think I've finally found a way to make our precious generator work. If I'm right, it will be more powerful than we've ever imagined it would be. If I'm right, our funding will not have gone to waste and the machine will be able to control the world's weather by scrambling the molecular pattern of the air to whatever we want it to be. World hunger will be over. We can send rain to the hottest deserts and water crops. We can monitor the rain and the hot and cold intake of the soil. It's what we've always wanted! We'll finally be able to help people, just like we've always wanted."_

Max continued speaking, the rest of us listening closely to what she was saying. "_And yet, I worry. Just the other day, James Morgan came snooping around here; that man is always looking for a profit. I think people are starting to get suspicious and a little too curious for my liking. Everyone will want to get their hands on something like this for their own profit and gain, instead of using it for the good of all like it was meant to. It's getting to the point that I'm worried for my own life now. People are desperate to make extra cash and this would be the jackpot for them. Who knows what they would do to get their hands on this. Maybe I'm just worrying too much as I usually do, but you can never be too careful. With great regards, Jonathan._"

"And this means what exactly?" Nudge asked as Max read the paper to herself again. "I don't get how this is relevant."

Angel sighed, her tone aggravated. "I found it a few weeks ago when I was looking for a place to spend the night. I was in the forest and I started hearing some mechanical noises. At first I thought I was being attacked, but then I saw these purple and blue sparks coming up from _this_ factory." She tapped the photo in Max's hand. "Any other time I wouldn't have been suspicious, but what kept bugging me was that the whole place looked completely deserted during the day but it was completely active at night. So I stayed and did a little investigation."

"And?" Max asked.

"And I found this. I found the message near the dumpster and recopied it onto another sheet of paper." She gestured to the photos in her hands and handed them to Max, who flipped through them quickly. "Once I read that letter, I knew something suspicious was going on. So I researched the two names and a machine with the power to control the weather, and I came up with this." She reached into her pocket again and pulled out another piece of paper.

"The guy who wrote this letter," She said, handing Max the other piece of paper, "died three days after it was written. His name was Jonathan H. Gifford. He was an inventor who dedicated his life to helping people and he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982. Before he died, he was working on this invention he called a Weather Generator. This was him." She pointed to a black and white picture in Max's hands. A man was standing there, gesturing to the giant machine behind him with a small woman next to him, writing on a clipboard.

She continued. "The woman's name is Samantha Pastrana. She was Gifford's best friend and colleague. They had gone to Yale together, graduating at the top of their class. He was writing to her when she was in Italy, but the letter was never sent. When she went back home she found him dead in the factory. They never found out how he died, though most people suspect murder. She refused to continue working on the machine without him, so the lab closed down. A few days after the factory closed down, she was found dead in her apartment. The coroner's report said that she hung herself, but there was a lot of controversy about it."

"What about this guy? What's his name… James Morgan? Did he have anything to do with it?" Iggy asked her, looking at the pictures over Max's shoulder.

Angel shook her head. "No. The police on the case went to investigate him since his house was close to their lab, but he wasn't there. They found him about a week after Samantha died."

"Dead?" Gazzy asked.

"Nope. Wandering on the side of the road. He had been driven half mad, but no one knows how. He spent the rest of his life in an insane asylum." She responded.

"So you think these people are behind the whole Apocalypse thing?" I asked.

"Not exactly. They really wanted to help people. I think it was whoever killed them that are doing this. They must have fixed up the machine and are going to use it to 'restart' the world."

"The problem is that they're going to destroy themselves along with the world." Jeb said.

"But why wait until now to start? Why the specific date?" Max asked.

Angel shrugged. "No idea. Maybe it took a while to fix or they didn't have the money. Maybe they wanted to lie low for a while. Or maybe they wanted to keep up with everyone's fears that the world will end in 2012. Whatever the reason, the result won't be nice."

"What happened to that guy?" Ella asked. "The one who was sent to the insane asylum."

"He's still alive and still insane. He would probably be in his fifties or sixties right now."

Max sighed, pinching her temple as if she had a headache. "It seems like our best bet to go talk to him."

Angel bit her lip. "I don't know Max… This guy is really out of it. _Really._"

"It doesn't look like we have any choice now, does it? Look, we'll go see if we can talk to him. If he cooperates, great. If he doesn't, oh well. It was worth a shot. Besides, it's the only lead we have." She looked at Jeb. "Does this have any connection with the School?"

"I don't think so." He said, taking the papers out of her hands. "I've never heard anything about it. It's a possibility that the School has nothing to do with this."

"So it's a plan. Any objections?" Max looked pointedly in my direction, daring me to speak. I glared at her, but kept my mouth shut.

"It's a plan then." She said, then turned to Angel. "So, where is this insane asylum?"

Total snorted, speaking up for the first time. "It's not exactly close by."

Angel shushed him. "That's one of our problems. It's in England."

* * *

**Fang's Blog:**

**Visitor Number: …**

**3:46 PM**

**Comments:**

**-hatin' on Max- says:**

**I knoweths what happened to Max! She turned into a pitiful, soul-sucking, hateful hole of ex-girlfriend. You would be better off with… with… the physcopath… ANGEL! The terrifying 7-year-old would be a better girlfriend. Or me. And I hate you; don't take it personally, I'm just an Iggy fangirl. WE ARE AWESOMESAUCE!**

**DreamingToFlyAway says:**

**Give her time, she'll come around :) I bet you a $100 she still loves you :)**

**Angel-Of-Darkness says:**

**You found her! You found Max! That's amazing, I thought he was dead, she's aliiiive! Oh, don't worry I'm sure your relationship will be fine. I mean, bumps and stuff, right? But... in all I'm sure she still loves you! God, you FOUND her!**

**KasaneCori says:**

**OMFG Fang! What the hellz? Are you really going to let her go that easily after all you've been through? GAHHHHH!**

**Xx-ThisSucks-xX says:**

**Fang –**

**Max still loves you, at least from the little piece of your life you've shared with us, it's completely obvious. It'll work out in time, I bet my entire life's savings on that. Now, she's also and independent soon-to-be woman, and you have to let her spread her wings (no pun intended) and fly. If she needs to do this as a stress-lifter, let her. "If you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it's your's forever." Try and lead her to the right decision for her— and not the one you think is best.**


	20. Chapter 20

**This is mostly a filler, but enjoy!**

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Chapter 20:

Iggy POV:

November 29th, 2012 at 3:14 AM:

I reclined in the plane seat, crossed my arms over my eyes, and tried to forget the messed-up world around me.

"Crazy stuff, isn't it?" I felt the seat move next to me as Ella sat down. "If someone would have told me a few years ago that I would be riding in an airplane to England with my winged half sister, her friends, and a talking dog, I would have called the cops on them."

"Yeah, the talking dog thing _is _pretty weird." I said, not looking at her. "Did we really have to leave at three in the morning?"

"Apparently so. I think Jeb might have called in another favor and this was the only time we could go."

"I hate life." I groaned.

She patted my shoulder. "This has to end sooner or later."

"I'd rather sooner than later."

We both sat in silence for a while as a voice came over the intercom telling us we were about to take off.

I opened my eyes and glanced around the plane where Max and Fang were sitting alone and Angel with Total in the back corner of the plane. Nudge and Gazzy were playing a card game in front of us, and Dr. Martinez and Jeb were quietly talking behind us.

"I think Max and Fang got in another fight." She said as the plane took off.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, they're both acting like the other has the plague for starters, and they haven't spoken to each other since we found Angel."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it Els."

She gave me a confused look. "Why do you say that?"

I shrugged. "That's just what they _do. _It's their thing. They don't agree on much… Actually, they rarely agree at all. They fight all the time and never hesitate to challenge each other every day. But in spite of all their differences, there's one thing they have in common."

"Which is?"

"They're crazy about each other. Always have been and always will be."

"Then what's changed?" Ella asked.

I sighed. "Everything, Ella. Everything's changed."

* * *

Fang POV:

5:46 AM

_Supposing you have tried and failed again and again. You may have a fresh start at any moment you choose, for this thing we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down. – Mary Pickford_

I watched the sun rise above the clouds, the first non-rainy day we've had in a while, while everyone else in the plane was fast asleep. I hated that we had no idea what we were doing. We were chasing air, having no idea if this guy could or would talk to us.

_You have to have some hope Fang._

I scowled. **Get out of my head Angel.**

_I know I have absolutely no right to give you any advice right now, but I think you should worry less about something that won't happen for another few hours, and worry more about patching up our relationship with Max._

**And I repeat, get **_**out**_** of my head.**

_But Fang, I –_

**I said, GET OUT.**

_She still loves you._

I didn't respond, waiting to see where she was going with this. You know, just for kicks.

_I talked to her for a little while earlier, and she's completely upset. She loves you, she just doesn't want –_

**To be with me? For one of the flock to get hurt? Me to get hurt? We resolved those problems a long time ago.**

_She's not afraid of one of you getting hurt; she's afraid of herself getting hurt. It hurts for her to be away from you, but it hurts for her to be with you too. She's torn._

**What do you expect me to do about it? It's up to her if she wants to be with me. I won't force myself on her.**

_I'm not saying that you two should get together right now. I just mean to patch things up with her. You guys were best friends. You used to be unbeatable. Just because you had a relationship that didn't work out for the best, doesn't mean you can't stay friends. And it doesn't mean that your relationship couldn't work out in the future._

**Why are you trying so hard to help me?**

It took a while before I got a response.

_I'm trying to make up for the mistakes I made._

I didn't respond as I felt Angel leave my head. Standing up, I decided I would follow Angel's advice, even though it's almost killed me on more than one occasion. I walked over to Max's seat and asked, "Can I sit?"

She glanced at me, not meeting my eyes, and nodded, turning her head back to the window and acting like I wasn't there.

"Are you alright?"

Max turned around completely and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Well, that was a stupid question." I said awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck.

She rolled her eyes at me and rested her head on the window again, both of us sitting in silence.

"To answer your question, no I'm not." She said, not looking at me.

"You wanna talk?"

"Not especially. But if that'll make you feel better, go ahead." She told me.

"Okay then. Look, just because of what happened between us, I don't think we should keep ignoring each other. It's not good for either of us."

Max was silent, so I continued.

"We were best friends, Max. Whatever happened to that?"

She turned and glared at me. "I think it was _you _that happened. _You _were the one who wanted us to take our 'relationship' to the next 'level'. _You _were the one who pushed me into a relationship that was doomed from the start."

"Don't turn this around on me! You had feelings for me too!"

"Yes, but I never known about them until you and your hormonal-teenager-self had to take our relationship into your own hands. A relationship, I might add, that was perfect the way it was."

I closed my eyes, not wanting to fight with her. "Excuse me for having feelings."

She looked at him in disbelief. "You're _Fang _for God's sake. Since when do you have _feelings_?"

I glared. "I'm a human being Max. Of course I have feelings."

She scoffed and turned away from me. I sighed. This wasn't going the way I wanted it too.

"I'm sorry you regret our relationship so much. But honestly, if I could turn back time I wouldn't change a thing."

"There are a lot of things I would change." Max muttered, whether to herself or to me, I didn't know.

We both stayed silent, and she turned her head to watch the pink sun on the horizon.

"You're afraid." I said, meaning it to be a question, but it came out as a statement.

I expected her to deny it, but she didn't. And after a short pause, she said, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I can't really deny it anymore. I'm afraid. Very, very afraid." Her voice was soft as she spoke. "I'm afraid of being hurt and of putting my guard down. I'm afraid that if I let you in to finally see the real me, you won't feel the same. And I'm afraid once I put my guard down and I get comfortable, that you'll walk away."

I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off. "Look Fang. I miss being just friends. Do you think we can try to get over all the awkwardness and try to get things at least a little bit normal again?" She stared at me, her eyes not revealing what she was thinking.

Did I want to start over? I didn't even give it a second thought. Of course I did.

"I'd like that."


	21. Chapter 21

**Props to Wikipedia for helping me find a legit psychiatric hospital. Here's the link if anyone's interested: http:/en(DOT)wikipedia(DOT)org/wiki/Bootham_Park_Hospital**

**And only one more exam until summer! Woop woop! Finally, I'll have time to write.**

* * *

Chapter 21:

Fang's POV:

_Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination. – Mark Twain_

"It looks more like a boarding school than it does an insane asylum," was the first thing out of Nudge's mouth when we drove up to the hospital.

"What's this place called again?" I asked.

Max glanced at the pamphlet Angel had given her. "Bootham Park Hospital, located in the Bootham District of York, and formerly the County Lunatic Asylum."

"Huh. Freaky." Gazzy said, and everyone nodded.

"Alright guys." Dr. Martinez said, clapping her hands together for emphasis. "The faster we go in, the faster we get to leave."

"Why don't we just skip the going in part and just leave?" Gazzy asked.

Max ruffled his head. "Nice try, Gaz." She said, walking toward the door of the building, leaving the rest of us behind.

oOo

"What do you mean there's no one here by the name of James Morgan?" Max yelled at the receptionist, drawing startled stares from some surrounding patients and staff.

"Miss, please lower your voice, you're startling some of our patients." The receptionist said, trying hard to keep calm, obviously not used to people like Max. "I've looked through our entire system and there is no and has never been a person by the name of James Morgan in this hospital."

"That's impossible!" Max said, her nails digging into her fists. "He has to be here!"

The receptionist let out a sharp, frustrated breath. "There's no one here by that name. Now, if you'll kindly excuse me, I have better things to do than argue with someone who has no intentions of believing what I say."

Max's eyes flared as the woman turned to walk away. "Oh, she did not just –"

Dr. Martinez put a hand on her daughter's arm, ignoring the way Max flinched from her. "Maybe we could –"

"Um, excuse me? Did you say you're looking for a man named James Morgan?"

We all turned around to see a scrawny boy with sharp features, shaggy blonde hair, and wearing a robe, staring at us.

"Yes. What's it to you?" Max asked, trying to hold back her temper.

Max's attitude didn't seem to faze him, but he raised an eyebrow at her. "I'll show you to him. The receptionist won't tell you about him."

Everyone exchanged glances as the boy walked off, not looking back to see if we were following him.

"Should we follow him?" Gazzy asked.

"What if he's a little…" Iggy asked, making the universal sign for 'crazy.'

"I have ears you know." The boy called back. "And just because I'm in here, doesn't mean I'm crazy."

Iggy blushed a bright red.

We followed him down the narrow white hallways which reminded me of the School more than I'd like to say.

Honestly, I could say that being at the hospital was an interesting experience, but I would never want to go back.

Ever.

Half of the people in the building looked as if they were completely normal, just with pictures of dread and sadness on their faces. Some were holding conversations with each other and seemed like there was nothing wrong with them. Some just wandered the halls aimlessly, occasionally screaming or crying or just staying completely silent and blank.

"Dude, this is just horrible." Iggy said, glancing around. "It's like they're chained up like animals."

"We were the same way not too long ago, Igs." I replied. "Now I know what it's like to be on the outside looking in."

It wasn't long before we stopped in front of a heavy steel door that was in a less crowded part of the hospital. I couldn't see anyone on either side of the hall and the lights flickered on and off every once in a while, adding to the eerie feeling.

"He's in here." The boy told us.

"How did you know this?" I asked slowly.

The boy glared at me. "I'm schizophrenic, not stupid. You don't have to talk to me like I'm a bloody two year old."

Everyone in the flock snickered and the boy continued, "Ever since Jonathon Gifford and Samantha Pastrana were murdered, they keep Morgan's location secret. They don't want anyone coming after him, blaming him and trying to kill him. Only a few know about his real location."

"But how do _you _know where he's at?"

The boy said nothing and took a set of keys out of his pocket, tossing them to Max. "Here, you'll need these to get through the doors."

Max looked at the keys. "How did you –"

"He was diagnosed with paraphrenia and a harsh case of Tourette's Syndrome. So if he doesn't respond to you, you'll know why." The boy said nothing more, turned on his heel, and went back the way we came.

"Well, that was weird." Nudge said. "What's paraphrenia?"

"And Tourette's Syndrome?" Gazzy asked.

Jeb answered them, "Tourette's Syndrome is a type of tic or twitch that probably started in his childhood. Paraphrenia is a type of schizophrenia, but it's in elderly people and adults."

"Will he be able to understand us?" Dr. Martinez asked.

"He should, if he's not in the middle of one of his... ah, episodes."

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see." Max said, using the keys to open the door. It swung open slowly and they all filed into the bland white room that's only furniture was a bed, a round table and a rocking chair. In the chair, an elderly balding man sat, rocking back and forth slowly.

"Hold on." Max said softly. "Only a few of us in the room at once. We don't want to startle him or something."

"Mr. Morgan?" Max asked walking closer to the rocking chair. "Mr. Morgan, my name is Maximum Ride."

No answer.

"We were wondering if you could answer a few questions for us."

No answer.

"It's about Jonathon Gifford." Max said, stopping right behind the chair as Iggy and I watched from the door and everyone else listened from the hallway.

This time we got an answer. "Jonathon Gifford is dead." I saw Morgan's hand twitch out of the corner of my eye.

"We know. We just wanted more information about the night he died. Do you know how?"

The old man shifted in his chair. "No, now I think it's best that you leave." He said gruffly with a twitch of his shoulder.

"Sir, please, we just want to figure out what happened to them and what they were building."

"I don't know anything. Now get out."

Max glanced at me for help, but I shrugged. "We tried." I told her.

"And failed." She muttered walking back to us. "I really thought we were getting somewhere with this, but I was wrong. Maybe we should just give up. It doesn't look like this is going anywhere. We might as well just let whatever happens happen."

Iggy and I exchanged looks and walked out ahead of her.

Max stopped halfway to the door and looked back, biting her lip. She shook her head and said to James, "I really thought you'd be able to help us."

"Young lady, let me explain something to you." He waved a hand above his hand and waved her over. "Close the door on your way in. This isn't a story I like to share."

I glanced at Max and she had a blank look on her face. "I'll yell if I need anything." She said, seeing the look I was giving her.

"Max, this isn't safe. This guy is like a walking time bomb. He could go into a fit any minute."

"I'll be fine. Now, shoo." She pushed me out of the door and shut the door in my face.

I sighed and glanced at the flock. "Where are Dr. Martinez, Ella, and Jeb?"

"They went wait for us by the car." Gazzy answered.

I nodded.

"So…" Nudge said. "What do we do now?"

I glanced at the door. "Now, we wait."

* * *

**So, this was a definite filler, but oh well. Review?**


	22. Chapter 22

**This chapter is dedicated to **turtlelover0511**, who has reviewed not only this story, but also my oneshot story, **_**Their Ten Firsts. **_Turtlelover0511**, YOU ARE AWESOME.**

**On another note, I've finally finished A Very Potter Musical (which is too hilarious for words) and I've discovered the joys and wonders of Wrock (Wizard Rock.) Can I say that I've turned into an even bigger HP fan than I already was? Yes, Yes I can.**

* * *

Chapter 22:

3rd Person POV:

November 29th, 2012 Midnight

_Even strength must bow to wisdom sometimes. – Rick Riordan_

"Take a right. We go for a few miles, and then it should be right there on the left." Angel instructed Jeb the way to the factory.

Max felt herself being nudged in her side, and turned from her view at the window. She raised an eyebrow in question at her mother sitting next to her.

"Are you alright?" Dr. Martinez asked her daughter.

Max nodded. "I'm fine. Just thinking." She turned her head back to the window, hearing her mother give a sigh, and replayed the conversation she had with James Morgan in her mind.

* * *

_"Well, Miss Ride. I always knew someone would come asking questions someday."_

_ She sat in the chair in the corner of the room, automatically cautious. "So you know what I want then."_

_ The man in the chair nodded. "Yes, but do you know what you want?"_

_ "Excuse me?"_

_ The man chuckled and his hand twitched. "Nevermind. What is it you want to know exactly?"_

_ Max watched the man's reactions carefully, not able to see his face. "What is the machine and what does it do exactly? Who was after it? Why?"_

_ "So many questions, when most of them, you already know yourself."_

_ "What?" Max asked, confused. "If I knew, then why would I be asking?"_

_ He seemed to ignore her words, his accent tingeing his words slightly as he spoke. "I don't like talking about it much. Bloody sad story, it is. Gifford and I were good friends believe it or not, before he spent all of his time with that machine. Time passed, and I received my reputation for being insane. At the time, not so much. But now…" he twitched again as his shoulder's shrugged. "Time changes people. Being alone, hurt, or scared changes people. It changed me just like it changed you."_

_ Max blinked, but ignored his last comment. "What does any of that have to do with –"_

_ "I'm getting there, I'm getting there." He interrupted her. "You're not a very patient girl are you?"_

_ "Not really." Pausing, she shifted in her seat. "Um, Mr. Morgan? Why won't you look me in the eye?"_

_ The only sign that he had heard her was that his rocker stopped immediately, but he continued talking as if he hadn't heard her. "Jonathon Gifford and Samantha Pastrana really did mean well while they were building their machine. They wanted to help people; save the world." Chuckling, he continued his rocking. "If you ask me, the world is too far gone to be saved. It'd be better if we started over with a clean slate." Thunder rumbled outside the window, indicating an oncoming storm._

_ "That machine was supposed to be our godsend. Samantha and Jonathon would have been heroes to the entire planet. But they never knew they would get killed in the process." An arm twitched and his voice seemed to get louder if he spoke. Max doubted if he even noticed. "Those two people were the biggest optimists you ever could see. They were the types that saw the glass half full. They looked at the world in such a way, they couldn't see the dark aspects to the world. They believed that if what they were doing was for the greater good of humanity, it was the right thing to do, no matter if anyone else got hurt in the process. Stupidity, I'll say, for not thinking about how their actions would affect themselves and others."_

_ He continued, "They had no idea what they were doing when they made that machine. They had no idea what kind of damage it could cause if it fell in the wrong hands."_

_ "But it was a weather machine," She stated. "How could it be used for something so bad if it was created for something so good?"_

_ "The same way a person can. No matter what you believe, the bottom line is that people were originally created to do good. To spread hope, to be joyous, and to love. But there are still those people who do bad things. Serial killers, rapists, bombers, people who were born without a conscience. They were literally molded to do bad things by the way they were raised or by things around them. It all depends on the hands a weapon falls into, no matter what kind of weapon it is. Cunning people are always going to be ahead of those who aren't. If you have the strongest man in the world against the most cunning, who do you think will win?"_

_ "The most cunning," she answered._

_ "Why?" he asked, testing her._

_ "because he'll find a way to use the other person's strengths against him." Max responded, seeing what he was getting at. "A person who's cunning knows their own strengths and weaknesses, and their opponents."_

_ "Correct. And they don't hesitate to use their opponent's weaknesses against them. Not unlike yourself, I suppose."_

_ Max nodded, though she was even more confused than before. "I'm sorry. I understand what you're saying, but I don't get how this is relevant."_

_ "You were made by intelligent people Miss Ride. Evil, I'll admit, but intelligent. But having intelligence doesn't equal a lack of stupidity. But are they evil really? If they honestly think that what they're doing was for the greater good? In their eyes, _you _and your friends are the evil ones."_

_ He continued. "I think you know who's controlling that machine. You know who killed Jonathon and Gifford and Samantha Pastrana, too. Deep down, I know you do; you always did. I think you just don't want to come to terms with it."_

"_I don't –"_

_A frustrated tone entered his voice, making his accent more prominent. "You're thinking in the wrong direction. Just because Jonathon and Samantha were murdered, doesn't mean that the person that killed them was always their enemy."_

_Max shook her head, trying to absorb all of this information. "So what you're saying is, the person who killed him was once their friend."_

"_Or a former colleague or co-worker. Whichever one you prefer." He stared out the window to the overhead storm. "Let me make this quite plain. You're main problem is that machine, not the people controlling it. Sure, if you overcome the ones controlling it, you save the world, for a time. But there will always be someone else, someone cunning, to control the machine again, and you'd be right back at square one. They could burn the Earth from the inside out if they wanted to with the weapon. Stop the machine, save the world." He finished with an air of finality, and settled back in his chair._

"_Then how do I destroy the machine?"_

"_You can't."_

_Max stared at the back of his head. "Wait, wait, wait. You just told me I had to destroy the machine."_

"_Yes."_

"_But you just said that I _can't _destroy the machine."_

"_Quite right."_

"_But you _just said –_"_

"_I told you that you had to stop the machine, not destroy it. That machine is reinforced with over ten thousand pounds of indestructible titanium. It's impossible to _destroy_."_

"_You make it sound so easy."_

"_Quite the opposite really."_

"_So, stop the machine, and the world is saved?" Max asked suspiciously._

_His head twitched. "In a nutshell, yes."_

"_What's the catch?"_

_She could picture the smirk on his face as he replied. "I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough. You're a very smart girl."_

_She shook her head as she stood up to leave. "Thank you." Pause. "I think."_

_For the first itme in their conversation, he stood. "A lesser known fact about Jonathon and I: we both had a passion for taxonomy and genetics. Taxonomy is the science of the classification of different species, for the record. That may help you."_

I doubt it. _Max thought to herself. "Um, thank you?" She wanted to get out of there as fast as she could._

_She stepped toward the door, not waiting for him to say anything else. Her hadn reached for the doorknob when it hit her. What he had been trying to tell her all along. About Jonathon Gifford and Samantha Pastrana killed by friends or colleagues. The fact that Gifford had a particular interest in genetics. How the machine was made for something good at the price of others, just like she was…_

_It was so obvious. It was there right in front of her the whole time, and she didn't see it until now._

"_They were whitecoats. They work for the School." She said, barely believing the words that came out of her mouth, but knowing they were 100% true._

"_Yes."_

"_And so are you."_

_Jonathon Gifford finally turned around and Max had to hold back her gasp._

_ "Wait a minute." Max said, shaking her head and backing against the door. "I _know_ you."_

_ "Nice to see you again, Maximum. I'm very proud of the work you've done so far, though I'd have thought you'd have gotten farther than you are now."_

_ "But, w-wait," She stuttered, angry at herself for showing her surprise. "You're supposed to be dead!"_

_ Her mind went back to when she was at the School. She was so young, only about seven, so she only had a vague idea what was happening. She didn't know what was going on, she only knew that the torture would end soon. At least, that's what she hoped._

_ Her ears picked up sounds coming from her side, and she listened, not understanding what was being said._

_ "We can't just get rid of them! Too much time and effort were put into making them. Getting rid of them like this would be a complete waste of money."_

_ "But the Director said –"_

_ "I don't care what the Director said! We're not even sure if that was her exact order! The only way I'll actually believe she wants us to destroy one of our first successful subjects, is if I hear it from her myself."_

_ "I guess you have a point. They were such a success."_

_ "_Are _a success."_

_ Two heads bent down in front of her simultaneously and she backed up to the back of her cage, determined to stay away._

_ One of the heads spoke. "It would be completely idiotic to get rid of them at this stage."_

_ Max was suddenly brought back to the present. "You were that whitecoat!" She exclaimed. "You kept us alive when…" She let her voice trial off._

_ "Yes. And I'm afraid my time is limited now. There isn't much time left for you either. There are a lot of obstacles for you to face in less than a month. Remember that people are not always what they seem, and neither are objects. You'd be surprised what lies on the inside when you look hard enough. All of your choices have led up to this moment. Find the real machine as fast as you can and shut it down. You have 22 days. I wish you the best of luck."_

* * *

"We're here." Angel's voice rang out in the car and snapped Max out of her reverie. Doors around the car were opening, so Max swung open hers and stepped out, stretching.

"So, where are we now?" Gazzy asked, yawning. "I'm tired," he stated as an afterthought.

"Us too, Gaz." Iggy responded, ruffling his fellow pyromaniac's hair. "I'm sure we won't be long. Right?" He sent a questioning glance to Max.

"Right. Let's get this over with."

They walked toward the gate with determined looks on their faces. "So, we just fly over it?" Fang asked, speaking for the first time in hours.

"Too easy." I said, looking the gate up and down.

"You're right." Angel commented. "I tried to fly over it when I came here. Watch." She picked up a rock and threw it over the fence. Well, at least in that direction.

_BZZZZZTTT!_

We all watched as the fence fell to the ground, smoking slightly.

"Electric fence. Fantastic." Iggy commented.

"Do you have your lock-picking kit Igs?" Max asked, eyeing the chained lock on the gate.

"Nope." He asked, lifting the chain in his hands and turning it over. "Didn't think I'd need it."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, here's the plan. Why don't we head back to that hotel we saw down the road for the night and come back in the morning? We won't be able to do anything tonight." She glanced back at the building. "Besides, it looks like it's deserted right now."

"First thing tomorrow morning?" Nudge asked.

"First thing." Max confirmed. "That way, mom, Jeb, and Ella can stay at the hotel so we can just fly here. It'll be a lot faster. "

"It's a plan."


	23. Chapter 23

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys are amazing! I realized there was another person who keeps reviewing both of my current stories, so this chapter is dedicated to **EmpressOfSarcasm**. Thanks for the reviews **EmpressOfSarcasm**, and for the record, I love your picture; it's sooooo funny.**

**Lilac Rose6 – Thanks for the review, as always! :) I think that would be hilarious. The only thing that would be even better is if Rose Weasley and Scorpius got together and we got to see the looks on Ron and Draco's faces. Priceless.**

**Turtlelover0511 – Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it! AVPM is amazing! I haven't gotten a chance to watch the sequel though! I heard the person that plays Prof. Umbridge is a guy, which I think is freakin hilarious. I can't wait to watch it!**

**Disclaimer: I own the plot, but not the characters. I owe part of this to the Martina McBride song, In My Daughter's Eyes, and part of the other quote that I used in this chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 23:

3rd Person POV:

November 30th, 2012 1:35 AM

_In my daughter's eyes, everyone is equal._

_Darkness turns to light and the world is at peace._

_This miracle God gave to me, gives me strength when I am weak,_

_I find reason to believe in my daughter's eyes._

_Martina McBride_

_Bang, bang, bang!_

"Come _on_, Nudge! I wanna hurry up and take my shower tonight so I don't have to do it tomorrow morning," Gazzy yelled through the bathroom door, "and you're making it extremely difficult! Hurry the hell up!"

The other occupants of the room rolled their eyes at the young boy who was still banging on the bathroom door.

"Oh, shut up, Gazzy! I'll be out when I'm out!" Nudge's voice sounded muffled through the door.

Gazzy glared at the door as if it was her, and slid down against it, waiting. "This is ridiculous," he huffed. "Who let Nudge take her shower first?"

Iggy raised an eyebrow at him. "You did."

Gazzy blinked. "Oh, right."

Dr. Martinez piped up, looking up from the book she was reading. "Why don't you just go and use the one in the other room?"

Gazzy groaned as Fang walked out of said room wiping his dripping hair with a towel and spoke, "because Jeb just started his shower."

"This is ridiculous," Gazzy said exasperatedly, lying down completely on the floor. "Wake me up when one of them gets out."

There was silence throughout the room, until Fang spoke again, "Where's Max?"

"Went for a walk." Angel said, pointing out the window she was sitting next to. "She mumbled something about needing some air to help her think and then left."

He walked over to the window and looking out and following where Angel was pointing, he could vaguely make out Max's thin form. "Ah," he said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.

Pause.

"Well?" Ella asked.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"Well, what?" Fang asked her.

"Aren't you going to go after her?"

He heard Angel and Dr. Martinez sigh and Iggy snicker, but he ignored the three of them. "Why would I do that?"

"Even if she's not your girlfriend, she's still your best friend," She pointed out.

"So?"

Ella glared. "Don't make me hit you."

Iggy laughed, but said, "El, if he doesn't want to go then he doesn't have to."

Dr. Martinez spoke up as the bathroom door opened. "I agree –"

"Finally!" Gazzy's voice interrupted her as he stood and pushed past Nudge for his mad dash to the bathroom.

Nudge rolled her eyes at him, and Dr. Martinez finished her sentence, "— With Ella."

"What are we talking about?" Nudge asked, taking a seat next to Ella on one of the beds.

Ella answered, "About whether or not Fang should go and talk to Max."

Fang ignored them, and turned to face Dr. Martinez. "Why do you say that?"

She sighed in response and shut her book, letting it settle in her lap. "Look Fang, I can't pretend to know Max better than you do, because I don't, I admit that. But I do know her enough to know how she feels about you. _All_ of you." She added as an afterthought. "She loves all of you so much. It pains me that I don't get to see a smile on her face that often, and I believe that the only one who can put that smile back on her face, is you." She said, her eyes locked on Fang's.

The entire room was silent, waiting for Fang's reaction, but he looked speechless.

"She loves you," She said when no one else had spoken, "and that's not going to change. Ever."

She seemed to be having a mental conversation with Fang, while everyone looked back and forth between them like they were watching a tennis match. Without warning, Fang looked away and stood, saying, "I'll be back." He slipped on his jacket and walked out of the room.

There was silence in the room.

"Holy shit, Mom. That was intense." Ella said, amazed.

The tension in the room seemed to fade as Dr. Martinez told Ella to watch her language and everyone went back to what they doing before.

Dr. Martinez sighed as she went back to her book.

"Dr. M?"

She looked up at the sound of her name.

"I'm not sure I understand… How'd you get him to go?" Iggy asked.

"Because Fang knows as well as I do that what Max needs right now is space, and a friend." She closed her book again, everyone listening intently. "After being with all of you for so long, I've learned that when I see all of you together, everything's just so much clearer. You're so in tune with each other that you don't even see the changes in how you act. But I do." She nodded as if to emphasize her point. "I can see in her eyes that when she's with all of you, Max is determined to hang on, even when her heart has had enough. She's always giving more when she feels like giving up. But sometimes, even the strongest need a shoulder to lean on."

The door to the adjoining room burst open, knocking the room's occupants out of their reverie. Unaware of the obvious tension in the air, Jeb spoke, "So, what'd I miss?"

2:02 AM:

_A friend is a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen, and a heart to comfort. – Anonymous_

"I knew you'd come."

He debated a second before taking a seat next to her on the curb in front of the hotel. "How?"

"Because I know you."

"And I know you." Fang stretched his long legs out in front of him and leaned back on his hands. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing. I'm just thinking."

"About?"

"You're very persistent today."

He looked up at the stars. "I'm always persistent."

"True."

A calm but shaky silence fell between the two, neither one of them wanting to be the next one to speak, because neither one knew what to say.

"Something that Mr. Morgan says bothered me."

Fang glanced at her, but she had her gaze fixed on the sky. "From what you told us, everything seemed pretty straight-forward."

"I left out a few things. I didn't want to…" Max's voice trailed off.

"Scare them?" Fang asked.

"Yeah," Max replied. "I don't know why I think I'd scare them, though. I keep forgetting that it's been almost three years."

"It's easy to forget, so I don't blame you." He shifted in his spot. "So what exactly was bothering you?"

Max hesitated, not wanting to say what was on her mind. "Can I trust you?"

Fang turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

Max shook her head. "Right. Sorry."

"Like I said, I don't blame you."

Max paused before she spoke. "He said something along the lines of, '_Remember that people are not always what they seem, and neither are objects._'"

Fang didn't speak, not seeing the problem she was seeing. "What about it?"

"Well, I've been thinking about it. _People are not always what they seem._ What if he meant we have another traitor?"

"Another one?"

Max nodded.

"Angel? Jeb? Total?"

Max cracked a smile at the mention of the little Scottish Terrier-looking dog being a traitor. "Maybe. I don't know. But it's been driving me crazy." She paused. "And there's something else."

"What else?"

Max shifted in her spot. "Do you remember a long time ago when we were at the School when we were about six or seven? When they wanted to get rid of us for a while but then that guy stopped them?"

"I… I think so. Why?"

"James Morgan was that guy. He's a whitecoat."

Fang nodded.

"But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Fang gave a slight smirk. "I had a hunch, I just wasn't sure until now."

"I wish someone else had been chosen to do this." Max said, her voice suddenly turning sad. "I don't think I can do this anymore, Fang."

Fang was taken aback by the sudden turn of their conversation, but didn't mention his shock. "You underestimate yourself."

"No. I know my strengths, and I'm not strong enough to handle this anymore. Two years ago it was completely different. Things have changed."

Fang didn't deny it. "For the better mostly."

"Some things, not all." She sighed. "I just wish things were the way they were when we were thirteen. Easy and uncomplicated."

"Yeah, but that's no fun," Fang told her. "You're stronger than you think."

"Am I? Because it doesn't feel like I am."

"You're not alone."

Max nodded. "I know. But sometimes it feels like I am. Sometimes, it feels like I'm the only one on the planet with the entire universe on her shoulders. And if I take one wrong step, I ruin everything. Do you know how that feels?" She asked the question not expecting an answer, but he gave her one. And it was one she didn't expect.

"Yes. For the longest time I blamed myself for when you, well, when we thought you had died." He sat up and dusted off his hands, leaning on his knees. "I kept going through that moment over and over in my head, thinking of a million things I could have done different, things I could've done to change what happened." He sighed angrily. "It nearly drove me crazy. I wished that I could go back in time and change it, but I couldn't. There was this weight of guilt on my shoulders that would never go away…"

"That's different," Max said, crossing her arms around herself, feeling the chills of the crisp November air.

"No. Not really, if you think about it."

"But you don't have to save the world."

"No, I'm just helping the woman that has to. Like I said before, you're not alone. I won't let anything happen to you again, even if I get killed in the process."

Max closed her eyes and shook her head. "Fang, don't –"

"Here." He interrupted, taking off his jacket and setting it on her shoulders.

She wrapped it around herself, and started again, determined to say what she wanted to say. "Thanks, but –"

"Don't."

"But, Fang –"

"Forget it," he stated. "No big deal."

"You're not going to let me finish what I want to say, are you?" She said, her question coming out like a statement.

"Nope."

"I didn't think so."

He smirked, but his face became serious. "You know, a wise man once said, 'there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think, but the most important thing is that even if we're apart, I'll always be with you.'"

Max didn't speak for a while, letting what he had said soak in. "And what man said that? Ghandi?"

"Nope. Winnie the Pooh."

Max couldn't help herself when she started to laugh, and Fang started laughing with her, glad that he had finally made her really smile.

"Thank you." She told him. "I needed a good laugh."

"No problem. It's what I'm here for." He stood, the cold starting to seep through his clothes. "We're gonna need our sleep for tomorrow. You ready to go inside?"

She shook her head and pulled his jacket tighter around her. "You go. I'll be up in a few minutes."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

He nodded, not wanting to argue with her after all the progress they had made, and headed toward the door.

"Fang?"

His hand ready to push the door open, he turned around, "Yeah?"

"Did you mean it? What you said before?" She asked.

Without hesitation, he answered. "Yes. Every word."

Neither of them speaking, she stood and walked over to him as he pushed open the door for her. She grabbed his hand for comfort, and he squeezed it reassuringly as they both walked up to their rooms.


End file.
